The Pawn
by theH
Summary: Post-movie  It has been two weeks after the mission. But is it truly over or are there loose ends yet to be tied?   season 1 complete
1. Wide Awake

Author's Note:First fic ever. I'm kind of scared. All comments including constructive critisms are welcome.

I watched this movie yesterday and it was astounding. I am still kind of confused about what really happened but hopefully, I'll eventually figure it out.

Enjoy!

P.S. I don't own Inception.

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She was in that dream again.

Am I even in a dream? She asked herself.

She dug around in her pocket, searching for her reliable friend and company but the chess piece wasn't there. Her hands desperately clasped around the space that was once occupied by the brass pawn that had kept her from becoming lost; kept her safe from situations like right now.

"Goddamn it!" she cursed loudly. Her voice echoed through the darkness. Where was she?

"Ariadne."

She heard a soft voice, almost a whisper, behind her and spun around to see who had said her name. A figure, almost completely hidden behind the curtain of shadow, stood a few feet away from her. Ariadne tried to make out the person's face but all she could discern were his glistening green eyes, almost like those of a cat. The green pupils glinted and danced as if to lure her. With her hand extended in front of her, Ariadne took a cautious step forward towards the mysterious figure.

Then she started falling.

* * *

Ariadne jerked awake, breathing heavily. Furiously throwing the bed sheets off of herself, she rummaged through her sweatpants pocket, turning both inside out. It wasn't there. She got off of her bed and started to search her bed-side table frantically. Unable to find the chess piece even after pulling out all the drawers and spilling their contents on to the floor, she crumbled on to the floor. She wept amidst of the sleeping pills, post-its and other insignificant things that wasn't what she was searching for.

Then she remembered. She slowly lifted the pillow and found the brass totem resting on the bed. It seemed so peaceful and unaware of the frantic search that had happened only minutes ago. Ariadne grasped the pawn tightly and lay down on her bed sheets, her fists close to her face. Her knuckles went white and the pawn's top poked her delicate skin but she didn't care. Its familiar weight and coldness soothed her.

She started crying once more. Ariadne had never been the one to cry; she was the type of girl to yell and throw things when mad and retreat into silence when sad, but tears had never been the resort. But that was before the inception. It had happened just two weeks ago but it felt like years since she was introduced to the job by her professor.

She closed her eyes as fresh tears started to fill her brown eyes. Yusuf, Saito, Eames, Cobb…and Arthur. She felt like she knew them after spending what felt like weeks with them, risking their lives together. But in reality, it had been just a few days and a plane ride and the truth was, she didn't know anything about them. After they had gone their separate ways in the airport, her life had been shifted back to normalcy just as radically it had been jerked into the mission. They never called after that and it felt like losing a family that she never had. The mission had been dangerous but she missed it. Missed them. Missed who she had been.

Inception wasn't the only thing that spurned her tears. The dreams. The damned dreams. Cobb had told her that after using the machine to dream, she wasn't going to be able to dream. But she dreamt as clearly as she had in the past; but this time, she only dreamt one dream. The dream of being in the darkness with a stranger. The cat-eyed stranger only stared at her and did nothing more. But it was enough to trouble her. Always, before she could reveal his identity, she would fall like she was being woken up by a kick. In the dream, Ariadne was weaponless; without her chess piece. Although she had dreamt the dream many times, every time, she couldn't tell for sure if she was really in a dream or not. There was always this uncanny sense of reality that made her doubt her grasp on reality. Ariadne brought the totem to her mouth and traced it's contours with her lips.

It was just a few minutes before three o'clock in the morning and her electric alarm clock dimly lit the room making it eerie and unfamiliar. She felt more awake than ever and even more alone than ever. Ariadne hugged her knees and clasped onto the totem even more tightly. She waited. Waited for the dreamless sleep that she knew was not going to come.


	2. All Over?

Author's Note: Hello again! Like I said, yesterday was the first time I ever posted a story (I wasn't even sure if it worked but now I that I see that it did), thank you for reading and commenting on it. It really motivates me! I am still kind of lost and I realized that it's a lot harder to tell a story than I expected so the length might be a bit disappointing at times. But I'll try my best! It's summer for me right now and i'll try to write everyday but SAT prep might stop me from doing so...yes...it sucks to be me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inception.

Enjoy!

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Their mission was over. They had successfully planted the idea into Fischer's head and the corporation had dissolved according to their plans. Arthur had gotten his share and was now back home, relaxing on his leather armchair with his arms carelessly slung over it. It was all over. But there was still this sense of incompleteness that made Arthur uneasy. His teammates thought otherwise.

Saito was safe and sound and he was no longer threatened by Fischer's company monopolizing world energy resource. After he recovered from the disorientation from being pulled out of a limbo, the Japanese millionaire had made a phone call which released Cobb of his charges, paid the team generously and left on his private jet.

Cobb had gotten his end of the deal and was now busy being the father he couldn't have been.

"I'm done," he had said during the brief phone conversation they had.

_Dom Cobb, the best extractor in the world, throwing away his talent for a babysitting job._

Arthur chuckled. Although he was glad for Dom, he felt bitter for losing his best partner. They had been together for awhile. They had been the dream team; Cobb the master Extractor and Arthur the best point-man, Cobb the Sherlock Holmes and Arthur the Watson, Cobb the Batman and Arthur the Robin, etc. He felt more lost than ever without his partner.

Yusuf and Eames had gotten their share of the pay and left without looking back: Yusuf went back to his lab to keep his dream-deprived clients happy and Eames had left with a girl he had picked up in the airport. A "long vacation" Eames had called it.

That sneaky bastard. Arthur laughed quietly to himself. Thinking about his team members made him unusually sentimental.

His conscious reminded him gently that there was one person that he had left out. The one person that he was making an effort to not think about. The team architect.

_Ariadne_… His conscious reminded him again, more firmly this time. Arthur reached into his pocket and held the loaded die in his hand. The comfortable weight in his hand made him feel better almost instantly.

She was a university student studying in Paris. Cobb's father, the professor in the school she went to, had recommended her to be suited for the job and she had shown Arthur clearly that her professor was not mistaken during the week they worked together to design the dream.

She was also a girl that he kissed.

"It was _worth a shot_? What the hell was I thinking?" he groaned as he tried to push the image out of his head but it was useless.

The short collision could hardly even be called a kiss. It was more of a childish peck, almost innocent. But...not innocent enough to be disregarded completely.

It plagued his every thought and almost drove him insane. It replayed over and over again in his head like a broken record player.

He had been careless. It had happened in a dream (he was grateful for that part for God knows what he would be doing to himself if he had done it in real life) but it was still damn stupid of him. Rational people, such as Arthur who was a paragon of rationality, didn't just go kissing their co-workers. He had let his usual sharpness slip for one moment and of all the stupid things he could do, he chose to kiss his teammate. _Great_.

But he couldn't really help himself. She had been so untainted and so naïve. Arthur loved the way that she asked so many questions. She was smart as well, catching on more quickly than anyone else he'd seen. She created elaborate mazes and she enjoyed doing it. It was refreshing to see someone so engaged in something. So when he saw himself in those chocolate, deer-in-the-headlights eyes, all he could do was lean in and kiss her.

"Great. I just thought about it again. Good God! It was just ONE kiss," he chided himself.

Arthur was a man of order, and he was not used to being confused or lost. He was supposed to be the one with the map, wasn't he?

"I need to clear my head," he muttered, and with that, Arthur got off his armchair, grabbed his jacket and left his apartment.

Two hours later, he was on a plane to Paris.


	3. Vulnerable

**Hello again! I noticed that my writing is really short compared to those of others so I decided to work extra hard today, so it's abit longer than usual! Thank you for reading and it'd be nice if you could comment after you read. I really need to get the story moving along but first, I need to get used to writing fictions. Which might take a while. **

**Enjoy!**

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He knew where Ariadne's apartment was from the team file (not that he would ever look on purpose. It was entirely accidental, the discovery that is) and Arthur was certain that the door that he was pacing in front of was to her house. But he couldn't bring himself to knock so he had paced in front of her door for the past fifteen minutes.

He cleared his throat.

He fixed his already-straight tie.

He dusted off imaginary dusts off of his already-spotless suit.

And then, as though all the little nervous fidgets weren't enough, he went right back to pacing in front of Ariadne's door.

"Now I'm a coward as well as an impulsive idiot. Brilliant," he mused.

After five more minutes of internal conflict, the impulsive idiot side him had won and with a swift flicker of his wrist, he knocked twice.

Ariadne was still lying on the bed when she heard the knock. She flinched at the sound. Her own heartbeat, breathing and the occasional honking outside were the only things that she had been hearing for the past week, and was racing with the wild thoughts that crossed her mind. She was sure that it couldn't be anyone from school since no one knew she was back yet; she had stayed at home since she came back.

Mom? No, she never left New York unless it was absolutely necessary. And she would have called first.

Phil? Nope, broke up a month ago.

Can't be anyone from school…

Ariadne smiled ruefully as she quickly ran out of people that might come to look for her.

Maybe it was Yusuf and Eames. Maybe they missed her as much as she missed them.

Maybe it was…Arthur.

_I'm sure that they are way too busy to be visiting me. Besides I - _

Her thoughts were interrupted when the person knocked again, louder this time.

She made her way to the door, kicking the mess she had made in the morning out of the way.

Casually, she swung the door open and was caught completely off guard by Arthur who was about to knock for the third time.

"Oh…Hi?" Arthur started, "I'm sorry for barging in like this, but -"

This time, Ariadne interrupted him by shutting the door in his face.

_Oh god… Was that Arthur? Maybe I'm going crazy from eating and sleeping too little... WHY IS HE HERE? What do I do? _

Ariadne tiptoed carefully to check though the peep-hole that it was really him.

Arthur was standing outside her door, looking a little impatient. He looked the same as two weeks ago, impeccable and professional.

Compared to him, she was a mess after two weeks of sulking around; she was sporting her most comfortable sweatpants and a loose concert t-shirt and her hair was up in a messy pony-tail.

She couldn't possibly go out there like this.

Maybe she was dreaming.

Ariadne opened her palm to reveal her totem. Her palm was red from clutching it too long and there were bluish marks appearing where the chess piece had poked her.

It was still in the comfortable weight but for the first time, she felt unconvinced.

She stared hard at it, hoping that the pawn would tell her what to do.

There was a circular mark with some sort of a needle mark on her wrist.

_Hmm…Strange. _

"Ariadne, I know you're in there. I saw you. It's okay, just come outside."

_Yup, it is definitely Arthur outside. _

Ariadne grasped the totem, almost as a reassurance for herself, and tentatively opened the door again.

He cocked his eyebrow questioningly and smirked. "Did I surprise you?"

She felt her heart melt.

In his usual businesslike black three-piece suit, he held the door open with his strong hands. The suit fit him like a glove over his lean body and Ariadne couldn't help but feel hopelessly inferior compared to him. He had a presence that seems to pervade his all-knowingness and he looked graceful and powerful at the same time. Next to him, she felt like just another gawky, lost adolescent girl. Her eyes widened and she gulped as she nervously avoided his sharp, discerning eyes.

His dark eyes gleamed humorously as he watched her bewildered reaction. Arthur noticed that she hadn't had much sleep, her big, brown eyes sunken and dark and her pupils were red and bloodshot but they still obtained the curious sparkle that made her so attractive. She looked frail and thinner than the last time he had seen her but her right hand was gripping what he guessed to be her totem surprisingly strongly; he saw her knuckles turn white every time they made eye contact. Her hair was tied up carelessly and made her look younger than she actually was. Arthur suppressed his urge to run his hand through her brown locks.

_I must be losing my goddamn mind. _

"Hi Arthur, um..yea you did surprise me a bit. Can I help you?" Ariadne asked nervously. She looked down at her right hand noticed that she was unconsciously tracing the totem with her finger and she willed herself to stop being so pathetic. But like always, it didn't work.

"I thought I'd check up on you. That was your first mission and I was wondering if you were alright. Um… May I come in?" he said, maintaining his usual calm façade.

_Brilliant. He thinks I'm a baby. _Ariadne hid her disappointment with a forced smile.

"Really, you don't have to mind me, I'm fine. And I'm not sure if you would want to come in anyway... It's not exactly clean at the moment," she stuttered and felt her face turn hot with embarrassment.

To hide the room from the view, she tried to close the door slightly but was stopped by Arthur's hand, stubbornly holding it open.

"It's fine, so may I please go in? I feel kind of stupid standing out here.

Unsure of what to do, she met her eyes to his. His eyes were dark, almost black and she could see herself reflected in it. Her knees grew week as she stared at his handsome face and felt herself becoming nauseated. _This is way more than I can take after staring at my bedroom ceiling for the past two weeks. _

"_Please?_" he pleaded, softening his expressions, and Ariadne broke down and opened the door for him.

Embarrassed, Ariadne ran ahead of him and put away her mess quickly; underwear lying around carelessly, books and report papers that were everywhere, coffee mugs and sleeping pills…

"You take sleeping pills?" Arthur asked incredulously, picking up the pill bottle and examining it.

Ariadne snatched the container from his hand and swiftly stuffed it in her closet, out of sight. "Um.. I did but I don't take it anymore. I'm fine now," she explained nervously.

_Just like me after when I first extracted. _The point man thought sympathetically. "It takes a while to get used to. You probably can't dream anymore can you?" he predicted.

But against his prediction, the young architect told him that she had been dreaming.

"At first, I had trouble sleeping but from about a week ago, I could sleep normally and I started dreaming again," she said slowly, tightening her grip on her chess piece.

"That's a bit strange, most people stop dreaming after they use the machine once," Arthur mused and turned his attention to the photo frames on her cluttered bookshelf.

In the silver frame was a picture of a family; a little girl, most definitely Ariadne as a child (_she_ _had her curious sparkles in her eyes even when she was little_, Arthur noted), was sitting on top of a jovial looking man's lap who was sitting next to a smiling woman. The man did not look old but his grey eyes seemed to tell Arthur that he knew things of great importance and his smile seemed mysterious, as though he was hiding some secrets. The woman had a general feel of softness, her cream-colored skin and her light blond hair made her look translucent, and her smile was friendly and gentle. Even from just looking at the picture, Arthur could tell that they both loved Ariadne very much.

"Looks like a happy family. Though you don't really look like either of them," he commented.

"I was adopted," she replied and quickly added as Arthur tried to apologize, "don't be sorry, we are a happy family. I'm glad to be a part of it."

_Great going Arthur. Out of all the things to talk about, you poke about her private family business. Charming. _Arthur gulped hard. His calm façade was running out as he tried desperately to keep the conversation going. He fumbled around in his suit pocket nervously and held on to his totem, a loaded di. It wasn't working.

"Ariadne, let's have dinner together," he announced after a few seconds of silence.

"U-Uh we could get Italian. W-wait um, maybe French food since we are in Paris? Perhaps you are s-sick of it..Uh -" he stuttered, losing his usual aura of order completely. _I sound like such an idiot. _Ariadne had a way of making him feel vulnerable.

Ariadne could help but smile as the usually excessively composed point man fumbled to find his words.

"I like Italian," she grinned, amazed at how much better she felt.

Gaining confidence from her consent, Arthur smiled and added playfully, "It's a date."

Once again, Ariadne turned bright pink, but this time, it was definitely not from embarrassment.


	4. Irrational but Comfortable

**Hi, this one's kinda short cuz I'm really tired today. Sorry about that. Comments are always welcome!**

**Enjoy!**

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Ariadne was _not _girly. She was stubborn and she was headstrong but she was not girly.

When she was little, she liked building things with Lego, reading non-fictions or playing chess with her father much more than playing dress up or Barbie like the other girls her age.

Her mother had complained to her father that it was because of his affinity for these things that Ariadne didn't have much friends of her age. But Ariadne had always been grown-up for her age. She found it pointless to scream over lipstick shades like all her high school classmates.

"You're never going to get a date like that you know," her mom once commented when Ariadne was writing her lab report on prom night (yes, she was doing _that_ on prom night).

And it was true. Guys were intimidated by her and she was uneasy around them. And the rare few that brought up the courage to ask her out had been either brutally rejected or had disappointed her with disastrous dates. Her ex-boyfriend, Phil had dumped her after their second date when she refused to let him pay the bill. "Why do you have to be so difficult?" he had said.

She had never had a proper date…until now.

It had been already five minutes since Arthur told her that he was going to wait for her downstairs while she got ready. Since then, she had attacked her closet and went through them five times. Her bed was now buried under a mountain of loose t-shirts and jeans. _T__here is NOTHING to wear. _She panicked as nothing caught her eye. Next to Arthur, she would look immature in her usual "shirt + scarf + jeans" get-up.

After eventually picking out what to wear, Ariadne carefully picked out the girliest underwear she owned and changed into them. She stood infront of the mirror and smiled at her own reflection; she had always felt insecure about her curves, or rather, the lack of them. But right in that moment, with her face flushed with happiness and anticipation, she felt beautiful for the first time.

_I'm going on a date…with __**Arthur**__. _Her knees buckled underneath her and she buried her face in her clothes. Not only was he heartbreakingly handsome, he was also smart and understanding; caring and teaching her kindly during the weeks they spent together designing the dream. She was so happy but so nervous at the same time; it was all so confusing but wonderful for her as myriad emotion all overwhelmed her. She could stop laughing but at the same time she wanted to cry under the heavy weight of emotion.

"This is strange," she murmured into her bed sheets, "wonderful, but strange." She felt her heartbeat thump against her ribcage.

She felt like a teenage girl that she hadn't been.

She felt alive.

* * *

Arthur was pacing again. This time, he was outside her apartment but the panic that weighed him down wasn't any lighter.

'_IT'S A DATE? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?' _the rational side of Arthur screamed at the not-so-rational side of him that managed to surface every time he was near Ariadne.

'_You like her,' _the irrational subconscious answered nonchalantly.

'_SO? You just ask her out all of a sudden_?' Arthur shot back.

'_She said yes. It's all good, mate.'_

It was true; she had said yes. He had rolled his loaded die three times to check that he wasn't dreaming. Arthur turned red as he replayed his blatant action in his head. He felt strangely defenseless around her, as if his feelings were out in the open for all to see; it was refreshing to feel so susceptible. It was his job as a point man to be on guard all the time and sometimes, he felt tired of playing his part. He was human after all.

For once, he was glad that he acted so impulsively.

"Having second thoughts?"

Arthur looked up to find Ariadne looking at him curiously. Out of the casual clothes that she normally wore, Ariadne was wearing a dark green halter dress that stopped just above the knee and bared her toned shoulders. Her chestnut hair was brown and the soft curls framed her blushing face.

Arthur choked. "Y-you look…" he managed.

"That bad huh? I probably shouldn't have worn a dress. I don't really suit them. I'll go change really quickly," she blubbered and turned even redder.

As she turned to go back upstairs, he grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"No, um you look wonderful. Shocked me, that's all," he quickly explained. _Stop being so damn stupid._ He scolded himself, turning bright red.

Ariadne couldn't help but laugh as her heart almost burst with happiness, "thank you."

"Um, shall we go?" he suggested and held his hand out to her.

Feeling a little more brave, Ariadne carefully took it and he wove his long fingers between hers. She felt his pulse beating in his palm against her own and she smiled.

"Let's go," she said.


	5. Interrupted

**HI! I'M SO HAPPY THAT MY SAT PREP COURSE IS FINALLY OVER! though I screwed up my finals. But oh well. This chapter is longer than others like I promised. I realized when I was writing this chapter that I really suck at dialogues especially romantic ones (possibly due to my lack of...experience lol). But I hope you will forgive you for all of your supports. I almost cry everyday from reading the comments. ALMOST. Haha. **

**Enjoy!**

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"Do I make you uncomfortable?" Ariadne asked when Arthur dropped his fork for the second time that evening. Always impeccable and refined in his actions, she had never seen Arthur so jumpy. When her leg had accidentally touched his, he choked on his wine and spilled it across his suit jacket.

"Uncomfortable? No," he admitted as the waiter handed him a new fork. "But you do make me fell a bit tense. I tend to let down my guard around you,"

"I'll take that as a compliment," she grinned.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" this time, Arthur asked her.

"Uncomfortable? No. But you do make me feel nervous. But it's a good kind of nervous. I have never really gone on a proper date before."

"I'll take _that_ as a compliment," he said. Their eyes met and they laughed.

The rest of the dinner was pleasant. The initial nervousness was soon forgotten after they had gulped down their third glass that evening. They were soon talking and joking as if they had been couples for ages. Turns out, they had a lot in common; their love for art and film kept them talking for almost two hours without them realizing it. Ariadne discovered her flirty side while Arthur found himself opening up to her more than he had to any other person that he had met.

Her face slightly flushed with all the alcohol consummation, Ariadne brought up the courage to finally ask the question that she had avoided asking (at least when she was sober).

"Arthur, why did you kiss me that day?" she asked.

Completely caught off guard, Arthur froze.

_Uh oh…what do I do?_ He panicked as he raked his brain for an appropriate answer. She was going to blow him off if he were to confess his feelings for him..not that he had any feelings for him..or did he?

_Damn. DO SOMETHING._ Arthur screamed at his subconscious.

"It seemed like a good thing to do at the time," he blurted out.

_Shit. _

'_That was all you, mate. I didn't say a thing,' _Arthur's subconscious drawled.

While Arthur was struggling with an internal turmoil, Ariadne stared at him in disbelief, her face red with anger.

"Wow. It _seemed _like a good thing to do at the time? What is your problem?" she yelled, turning the restaurant silent except for the clank of the fork when Arthur dropped it.

"So you kiss everyone if you think it's a _good thing _to do. Well I'm sorry for thinking that you had any bit of feeling for me because I don't just go around kissing people because I think it's _appropriate,_" Ariadne ranted.

Everyone in the restaurant was looking at them now.

"I-I didn't really mean it like that," Arthur sputtered.

"Well, what exactly _did _you mean?" Ariadne scoffed as she waved her hands in the air.

Right then, the waiter interrupted her furious ramble with a cough and a polite request to them to leave.

Ariadne snatched her bag from the seat and furiously stomped out of the Italian restaurant.

"Proper date _my ass_," she swore under her breath. The best night of her life was quickly turning into her most quick and humiliating break up.

_If we even had a relationship that is. One date and getting all excited. What a fool you are, Ariadne. _

When she was about to catch a cab, Arthur ran after her and grabbed her wrist and turned her around, nearing slamming her into him. Their faces were dangerously close as Ariadne was momentarily overwhelmed by the warmth of his strong hands on her wrist and his scent. He smelled like rain.

Realizing their proximity, Ariadne tried to tear herself away from him but his iron grip had her under his control.

"Let go Arthur," she croaked as she tried to avoid looking into his dark eyes. She was scared that she was going to give into their darkness and intensity.

"If you hear me out and then I'll consider it."

"Well?" she waited.

Unlike when he stopped her from getting a cab, Arthur looked unsure. "I kissed you because... I like you," he admitted, loosening his grip on her wrist.

_BRAVO! _His subconscious applauded.

"You..like me?" she repeated, dumbfounded.

"Do you want me to say it again?" Arthur said. He was turning bright red. He could handle fighting gunmen but this was way too much for him. Confessions were definitely not his thing.

"Well..Why didn't you say so earlier?" she asked.

"Ariadne.. You have to understand that I don't usually go around kissing girls or randomly barging into their houses even if they live in a different continent or asking them out to dates," he explained, turning even redder. This time, he couldn't look at her in the eyes, afraid that he is going to say even more stupid things.

Ariadne was speechless.

Arthur the sharp and always calm and under control point man was confessing his feelings for _her_. And he was blushing. Like a tomato.

Anger suddenly all dissolved, Ariadne felt happiness bloom from the pit of her stomach and the warmth spread to her head, painting it pink.

Uneasy from the silence, Arthur finally looked up to found her madly blushing.

"I-I thought you.. I thought you didn't like me," she stuttered, "I'm sorry I got mad at you."

"No, it's my fault. I should have just told you. But I'm not exactly used to confessing my feelings to anyone," he said, "so can I assume that you are forgiving me?"

"Yes," she answered. "Arthur?"

"Yea?"

"I like you too," she whispered shyly and met his eyes. "We sound like fourth graders," she laughed.

Arthur found himself with nothing to say as he looked down at Ariadne's face, flushed with happiness, and felt an emotion that he had never felt before. It was overwhelming but gentle and made his heart beat faster than ever with excitement.

Arthur did the best think he could do then.

He kissed her.

It began as innocently as their first kiss had; a gentle touch of his lips to her soft and warm ones. With his free hand, he threaded his fingers into her brown locks and pulled her closer. She tasted faintly of wine and chocolate mousse that she had eaten for dessert. Slowly kissing him back, Ariadne closed her eyes, letting the warmth of his kisses wash over her. The moment felt so perfect, they didn't even realize that they were on the middle of the street with people passing by.

When they parted from their embrace, Ariadne chuckled. She had always despised public display of affection but with him, it felt so right.

"You can let go of my wrist now. I won't run away," she murmured. Slowly, Arthur extricated his fingers out of her curls and let go of her wrist. There were white marks tattooed around her wrist where he had grabbed her.

"Did I hurt you? I'm sorry," Arthur apologized, noticing the marks. He brought her wrist up closer to his eyes, examining the damage he had done. He traced his hand print with his fingers gently, sending shivers down Ariadne's spine. Suddenly, he froze when he arrived at the circular marking, almost like a scar, on the base of her palm.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

After a while of cold silence, he finally opened his mouth.

"Oh God Ariadne. You've been extracted."


	6. Gone

**Hello this is me again. Hope you like the chapters so far. This is a short one, sorry.**

**So far, I'm having alot of fun writing this story. I'm not the best writer but I hope you will understand that it's my first time writing a fanfic. I'm trying to figure the storyline out. If you have any suggestions, please tell me! Reviews are always welcome!**

**Enjoy!**

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Arthur and Ariadne were in the office where they had worked together just two weeks ago. When she walked in, Ariadne felt the rush of happiness, back where she worked. But the office was very different from the bustling and exciting mood it held two weeks ago. It was dark and cold and she shivered, uneasy from the eerie silence that plagued the room. She sat down at what used to be her desk. It was covered with loose notebook pages of her sketches and books. The dust had settled on the models that she and Arthur had made together and Ariadne traced patterns on the surfaces, collecting dust at the tip of her finger.

Arthur was on the phone. His face was dark and serious as he muttered under his breath so quietly that she couldn't hear. He was calling their team mates to what had happened.

"It's best if they know. They may have been targeted as well," he had said. Arthur now, stern and anxious, felt distant and it made her uneasy.

_I've been…extracted. _She thought blankly. To her, it was a completely new and unfamiliar concept. Sure, she knew what it was and she knew that it was Cobb's job. Or his ex-job. But she had never seen it done nor has she ever bothered to ask anyone of her teammates about it. It felt like something distant and completely unrelated to her.

"I wonder what they took," she murmured.

"They said they will be here in about two hours," Arthur told her when she got off the phone and walked slowly towards her. He sat down next to her and started asking her questions in a business-like manner, their intimacy from the date suddenly gone.

"You said you started dreaming again a week ago? What were the dreams like?" he asked in a monotonous voice.

"It was just one dream actually," she explained cautiously, "it was always the same. I'm in a dark room and there is someone there. When I approach him, I wake up."

"So you have no other memory of the dream other that?" again, he asked in a detached manner.

"Are you okay Arthur? You're acting so strangely," she hesitated.

"Just answer the goddamn question Ariadne," he sighed.

"No, answer my question Arthur because there _is _something that's making you so uneasy," she shot back at him.

"Am I OKAY? No, I'm not OKAY Ariadne. You've been extracted. You obviously don't understand what that means," he raised his voice as his eyes darkened dangerously.

Not wanting to back down, Ariadne held his gaze. "Then help me understand," she whispered.

There was a dangerous silence in the room. The tension between their gaze threatened to explode as they refused to look away. At last, Arthur sighed and closed his eyes.

"It means that a person intruded into your utmost private but vulnerable place and had your most personal memories and thoughts in his hands. He could have stolen anything in there. He would know you most intimately because your dream is like a library full of unguarded thoughts and ideas. Your secrets would no longer be yours anymore. I have done it enough times to know that it's enough to destroy a person, if not a whole corporation," he spat. The contempt in his face made her silent. She couldn't say anything. She couldn't reach out and hold him, tell him it's not his fault. She froze, afraid to move.

"I'm sorry," he broke the silence and stood up, back towards her. "They should be arriving soon."

_Why are you apologizing to me? Why are you hurting yourself? _Ariadne wanted to scream at him but the coldness in his voice kept her frozen in place.

He walked out of the office, leaving her in cold silence.

Suddenly, the date felt like something out of a dream.


	7. Infuriating

**Hello! Lucky seventh chapter! It's a pretty long one this time. I'm sorry when I can't write a lot but it's my first fic so please go easy on me! Haha. I'm really enjoying this and I hope you are too. **

**When I'm writing, I like listening to music and for this chapter, I listened to the song "Sleepwalker" by Adam Lambert. It was recommended by my sister and I like it. I recommend you listen to it while reading this chapter hehe. The team is finally reunited!  
**

**Reviews and suggestions are always welcome!**

**Enjoy!**

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"So we don't know who did it?" Yusuf asked when Arthur was done explaining the situation again to him, Eames, Cobb and Saito.

They had arrived twenty minutes ago and Ariadne couldn't help but give each of them a hug. She had missed them all so much and she felt a sense of belonging when they hugged her back. She felt momentarily relieved of Arthur's coldness. Yusuf was the one that looked most different; he had shaved off his beard and Ariadne almost couldn't recognize him. Saito was as quiet as she had last seen him but he smiled when she gave him a hug. Eames was the one that welcomed her the most, squeezing her, almost knocking the air out of her lungs. "I missed you darling," he laughed, patting her on the head. Cobb looked softer and more relaxed than he had two weeks ago. He showed her the pictures of his children. Looking at his loving expression, Ariadne was relieved. He seemed to have let go of the past.

"That's why we're here," Eames said in his thick accent. "Gorgeous dress by the way darling." He winked at Ariadne, turning her bright pink. Eames always knew how to make her blush.

"Out on a date or something?" he asked. Ariadne looked up at Arthur but he turned away, avoiding her gaze.

"Yes. _Was _out on a date," she said coldly, keeping her eyes locked on the back of Arthur's head. _Ugh. Arthur could be SO infuriating sometimes. _

Eames cocked his eyebrow questioningly. Then, he followed her gaze and smirked. _Interesting development. _Eames thought.

"He's a lucky bastard. Who is this guy anyway? I would _love _to meet him," he chuckled when Arthur flinched. _**Very **__interesting._

Before Ariadne could answer, Arthur intervened. "It is possible that we all may have been extracted as well so you all should check," he said monotonously, turning around to face them.

Instead of checking his own wrist, Eames reached for Ariadne's and threaded his long fingers between hers, her palm on top of his. He lifted their hands up to his eye level and looked at her scar. Ariadne tried to pull away but the weak struggle was useless as his hand held hers tightly against his. "Um…Eames?" she said, unsure of what to do. "Ariadne, your hands are so small and cute," Eames exclaimed, holding her hand tighter. Eames playfully stroked the scar with his other hand and his eyes briefly met with Arthur's. Arthur's face was blank and he turned his back to them again. He was acting indifferently but Eames smirked when he saw Arthur's ears turn bright red and his fists trembling by his sides.

"Enough flirting Eames," Cobb warned.

"Typical of him," Saito murmured humorously.

"I just can't help it. She's my type," Eames drawled, kissing her hand, making Ariadne turn bright red and speechless.

Arthur shot another look at them and walked out of the warehouse, slamming the door behind him.

_Get a hold of yourself Arthur. Your teammate has been __**extracted **__for God's sake and you're acting like a hormone driven adolescent. _He scolded himself as he leaned against the cold office door.

_Not your teammate anymore. She's your date now, remember? _His subconscious reminded him.

_What does that even mean-_

Arthur's thought was interrupted when Eames came out of the warehouse and smirked at Arthur who had covered his face with his hands.

"Boy, you're the jealous kind. I didn't know you had it in you, Arthur. Actually, I didn't even know that you were capable of asking women out to dates. Nice catch by the way," Eames chuckled.

"She's NOT a catch, Eames," Arthur snarled disgustedly, glaring at him.

The initial carefree and joking expression on Eames's face disappeared as Arthur's eyes glinted dangerously.

"You're actually serious about her," Eames muttered, taken a back.

The corridor was silent.

"Yes," Arthur admitted at last after a while of tense silence.

Eames walked up to him and hugged him, bursting out laughing. "Never did I think I would see serious and no-fun Arthur having girl troubles," Eames roared as Arthur struggled to extricate himself from him. Finally when Eames let go of him, Arthur was bright red from embarrassment. "AND I get to see him blush. What is this, my birthday?" Eames started laughing again.

"Shut up Eames," Arthur grumbled, playfully shoving him.

* * *

Ariadne felt her heart drop when Arthur slammed the door. There was a cold silence in the room.

"I'm just messing with you darlin'," Eames chuckled and left the room as well.

"What's with Arthur?" Cobb asked Ariadne. She couldn't meet Cobb's sharp eyes, afraid she was going to give away her internal turmoil that was swirling around in her stomach, making her feel sick. Avoiding his gaze, she told Cobb that she didn't know.

"Untypical of him," Saito murmured.

"Why was Arthur with you again?" Cobb asked skeptically, not breaking his penetrating gaze. "He came to check up on me. It was my first mission and everything so…" she mumbled.

"Hmmmm," Cobb stared at her suspiciously but he said nothing and turned to discuss Ariadne's weird dreams with Saito and Yusuf.

"Who do you think is behind it?" Saito murmured quietly.

"What do you think they extracted?" Yusuf asked.

"There's a possibility that it may be related to the Fischer case. We should probably…"

Ariadne tuned out their voices. Extraction was something that was so unreal to her and Arthur was something that was behind the door. Although she could be ruined by what that mystery person took from her dream, she couldn't care less at the moment. _It probably won't hurt me as much as Arthur. He is so unpredictable and downright INFURIATING. _She heard distant laughter behind the door. She wondered if it was Eames. _I wonder what he's thinking about right now…_

"Ariadne? Are you listening?" Yusuf gently nudged her and she was pulled back into reality.

"Sorry. I guess I spaced out. It was a long day," she said apologetically.

The door clicked behind her and she turned around and saw Eames and Arthur walk in. Eames elbowed him Arthur in the side and Arthur grumbled something at him. Arthur looked up and saw her staring at him. She held her gaze steadily, willing herself to not turn away but Arthur looked away quickly. _INFURIATING_.

"There you are Arthur. Where were you Eames? We were just talking about how we should probably bring Ariadne into a dream as a subject to figure things out. There might be a clue in her subconscious," Cobb explained.

"In to MY subconscious?" Ariadne exclaimed. She couldn't believe what was going on. Her as a subject? She was an architect not a subject.

"Sounds like party, doesn't it Arthur?" Eames snickered. Cobb raised his eyebrow questioningly but said nothing.

"I don't know if that's a good thing. It might be too much for her right now," Arthur said frowning, making creases in his forehead.

Ariadne stared at him in disbelief. "Too much? Don't worry Arthur I can handle this just fine. We should do it," she said forcefully. His eyes flashed dangerously for a second but Arthur soon retreated back to the composed façade and shrugged. "Your call." _DAMN INFURIATING._

"Fine. Let's do it Cobb," she hissed. Eames looked at the bickering couple and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"WHAT EAMES?" they yelled at him simultaneously.  
"Nothing, just happy to be given a chance to explore Ariadne's subconscious," Eames choked back his laughter. "You're not going Eames. I think Cobb and I are enough," Arthur said quietly but there was a threatening tone in his voice that Eames didn't miss. He grimaced but raised his hands up signaling surrender.

Everything was set up; three recliners set up in the center of the warehouse and the machine in a silver suitcase on the table in the middle. Cobb, Arthur and Ariadne each sat down on the recliners.

"Arthur will be the dreamer and he and I will bring you into the dream," Cobb told Ariadne and she nodded. Yusuf connected them to the tubes and when they signaled that they were ready, he pushed the blue button in the middle of the machine.

Ariadne felt herself slipping away slowly as the sedater entered her bloodstream.

The room spun and focused in and out until it disappeared completely from her sight.

Soon, she fell completely under.


	8. In Her Head

**HI. It feels like it's been a while since I last posted. I didn't forget about the fic but the last couple of days had been hectic. I just got home and for the last two days I were forced into cleaning my room out. Yikes. But I did think about the story while I was doing the mindless chores so don't fret. Hope you enjoy this chapter. It might not be as consistant as the others because I've been writing it over the course of a few days. Please comment on the bits that I should fix. They are always always welcome! Also, new ideas are welcome as well! **

**Enjoy!**

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It was foggy and pouring. The city looked like it was unsure of its own existence; its features blurred and hazy, and the sky was dark and cloudy. _There aren't many projections._ Arthur noted.

"Great weather Arthur," Cobb said sarcastically as he took shelter under a tree.

"Quit whining, it'll stop soon," Arthur muttered and looked up at the dark sky, letting the rain wash over his face. He needed himself to be clear and focused right now.

"Did something happen?" Cobb asked carefully. He always had a way of knowing if something was up with Arthur.

"Arthur?" He asked again. Not so far from the building, a lightning strike and was followed by a low grumble of thunder.

"Alright alright, I won't ask anymore," Cobb retreated.

"There she is," Arthur pointed at the short brunette girl crossing the street. "Ariadne," Cobb called out and she turned and looked surprise but happy to see them. She ran towards them. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked as she gave both of them a hug. Arthur froze from the sudden embrace and quickly pulled back. "We're in a dream Ariadne. We came to check who extracted you, remember?" he explained, not making eye contact with her. Ariadne looked unsure at first but slowly took out her totem, the pawn. It was heavier than before, as if she hadn't carved a bit of it from its bottom. She put it on top of her palm and pushed it but it didn't fall over as it should. The realization slowly dawned on her and she turned pink as she realized what she had just done. _You IDIOT, Ariadne. You're supposed to be mad at him not run to him like a puppy and then give him a hug. _Arthur coughed, trying not to laugh as she blushed madly, and Ariadne glared at him. "Why are you soaking wet anyway?" she snapped, clearly irritated by him. "It's raining Ariadne. And we don't have umbrellas," he explained as if he was talking to a little child.

_UGH_. Ariadne bit the inside of her mouth to stop herself from kicking him.

"Where were you headed? Subjects in a dream tend to be attracted to where their subconscious is focused in. We will probably find your memories there," Cobb cut in.

"Over there," she pointed at the library.

"Let's go then," Cobb muttered impatiently and started walking ahead to the library.

Ariadne shot one last look at Arthur who was standing in the rain and ran after Cobb.

* * *

The library was huge, the ceiling was very high and there were books everywhere. They were stacked up against the walls neatly and organized in chronological order.

_Typical Arthur. _Ariadne noted. Surprisingly, there were no projections in the library.

"It's a bit strange," Cobb said quietly but he ignored the eerie silence and emptiness that filled the library.

"We should check if anything's missing," Arthur suggested, walking towards the tall shelves and reached out for one of the books.

"WHAT? You're going to read them? They are MY thoughts and memories. You can't read them," Ariadne screeched, snatching the book out of his hands.

"Ariadne, you were extracted remember?" Arthur reminded him, taking the book out of her hand.

"You THINK I was extracted. What if I wasn't? What if this is just a mosquito bite or something?" she exclaimed, tiptoeing to reach for the book that Arthur held over his head, just barely higher than her fingertips.

"Don't be so difficult Ariadne," Arthur said exasperated. "It's not like you have anything to hide, right?" His eyes gleamed humorously as she narrowed her eyes. "FINE, be a jerk Arthur," she cried and stomped to the furthest corner of the library. Arthur chuckled and opened the book.

_There is definitely something going on with those two…_ Cobb thought but didn't say anything. Instead, he himself grabbed a book from the shelf and started going through it.

* * *

A person's memories or thoughts in the dream were organized in a way that matched his or her personality. Of course, the subject of a dream didn't have much control over what form they took, the dreamer or the architect took care of that. For example, because Arthur had created his dream to have a library, Ariadne – the subject – filled it with her subconscious in the form that matched the dream, in this case, books. However, neither the dreamer nor the architect had control over the style of the context. Therefore, a person's accounts in his or her subconscious portrayed that person's true personality and character. For Saito, it had been a methodically written report; neatly typed and stapled together, brief, concise and to the point and rather cold and impersonal writing in a third person point of view. It clearly showed Saito's rational and businesslike persona. Ariadne's, on the other hand, were more like personal diary accounts; full of her artsy cursive and careless sketches and doodles on the margins. Her instinctive creativity and impulses to create were clear on the pages of her memories and thoughts. She wrote in painstaking details and description of her ever-present overwhelming emotion.

Arthur struggled to keep himself from bursting out laughing as he read Ariadne's sharp but rather romanticized and innocent accounts. Her childhood, family reunions, school plays were all written in detail with little pictures to accompany them. She was special and he knew it. He couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy when he read an entry about her first kiss and the "butterflies in her stomach".

"What are you reading?" Ariadne asked, surprising him. Tiptoeing behind him to catch a glimpse of the page, her breath grazed his cheek and he spun around and backed up away from her. He snapped the book shut immediately and hid it behind him, turning pink. _Hmmmm. _She raised her eyebrow as Arthur refused to meet her eyes. "Read anything _interesting?_" she grinned devilishly, stepping closer to him. He backed up and found himself pressed against the bookshelf. He quickly sidestepped Ariadne as she took yet another step towards him. "Nothing yet," he struggled to keep calm. "Try my freshman university year. I'm sure you'll find it interesting. Jake was my first," she snickered. He felt his back turn cold with dread. "First what?" he asked carefully, praying that it wasn't what he was thinking. "You don't think I'm a virgin do you?" she whispered into his ears suggestively and walked away, leaving him pressed against the shelf. Who knew she could be such a flirt.

* * *

While Arthur was being overwhelmed by the unfamiliar green monster, Cobb stayed faithfully on task, going through the books carefully.

"_Professor Miles calls me up after class and tells me that a man is here to offer me a job. Dom Cobb, he introduces himself as. He has the air of grief around him that the girls swoon over. "Brooding", they would call him. But I know that in his dark brown eyes, it is neither pensiveness nor mystic but instead shame and contempt for his past. It is only proud and egotistical nature of his that probably keep him standing on both feet. He is probably overwhelmed with the sense of aloneness in everything he does. He seemed like the kind of men that think that they are alone in the world with no one to reach out and help. Only too late do they realize that they were foolish…" _

Dom Cobb read the lines over again. Her first impression of him certainly hadn't been a positive one. But she had been right. She had the "eye" for details and she had seen right through him. Cobb grunted as he fingered the impressive sketch of him on the page. He flipped the page.

" "_Again," Cobb says after crumpling up my second maze. I had been wrong about him. He wasn't ONLY proud and drowning in his own misery but also sadistic! He was obviously enjoying my frustration. I did not like losing and he was perfectly aware of that. JERK…"_

_This just keeps getting better and better_. Cobb mused. He flipped through the pages afraid of what might come next when a page came loose and fluttered to the ground. Picking it up carefully with his fingers, he read through it.

" "_Quick, give me a kiss!" Arthur says as he leaned in. His darks eyes are on mine and it is as if I am hypnotized, I can't pull away or say a word. I can't even breathe. For a moment, time seems to trail off into inconsequentiality. And for that moment, I am entirely consumed by the brief and innocent kiss…" _

Cobb's face turned red and then white as his knuckles do the same as they tremble against the book. _Arthur that bastard. Kissing Ariadne during the mission? WHAT THE HELL WAS HE THINKING? _Cobb felt a shiver run down his spine. He had had enough of "co-worker romance gone bad" with his nightmarish experience with Mal, his deceased wife. The book landed on the wooden floor with a thump and Arthur and Ariadne look up from the books they were checking. Cobb forced his lips to smile as he signaled to them that there was nothing wrong, just his carelessness. Arthur shook his head humorously and went back to his book. Ariadne looked at him worriedly with her huge brown eyes but after awhile shrugged and started reading again.

Cobb groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He could not believe what was going on. Right under his nose too! He had to stop this until it got out of control. Arthur had always been sensible and had his emotion and feelings under control. He was the last person that Cobb expected to get into this kind of situation.

* * *

Ariadne sighed as she put down another one of her diaries. They were her ideas and memories so she knew them backwards and forwards. She got up from the corner that she was snuggling in and started exploring the massive library. They had spent about an hour in the library but they were yet to cover quarter of the books. Cobb was down the corridor, starting from the back while Arthur was at the first shelf. Quietly, Ariadne snuck out to the very back of the library. _Nothing much here either. _She sighed as she scanned the landscape of shelves and shelves of books, all stacked neatly. Then, a silver cabinet in the corner caught her eye. Up close, it looked more like a safe, with a lock that needed a pass code to open. It was as big as a wardrobe and metallic, looking out of place among wooden bookshelves and floor.

"Arthur, Cobb, you guys might want to come take a look at this," she called. "What is it?" Cobb asked Ariadne. She shrugged and raised her hand to touch it. "Um, Ariadne? You might not want to do that," Arthur warned. "It's just a safe," Ariadne said casually and pulled at the cold, metal handle. Suddenly, the library shook wildly and the books started tumbling out of the shelves.

"What is going on?" Cobb yelled over the noise of crashing books. The loose papers and covers started flying around in the building, creating a small hurricane. Ariadne fell against the cabinet and felt it vibrating violently against her back. She closed her eyes tightly and trembled. Arthur wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in closely and held her hands. He pressed his lips to her temple as if to assure her that everything was going to be okay.

The white blur of pages of memories closed in around the three and suddenly, with a bang, they were falling into darkness.


	9. The Theories

**Hi! another chapter. I'm really tired so I won't say much.**

**Reviews! I love them all :))**

**Enjoy!**

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"What WAS that?" Ariadne gasped, tearing the tube from her wrist. She winced as the needle drew blood. The droplet of blood left a long trail of red as it flowed down her trembling arm. Ariadne watched it make splotches on the warehouse floor. She closed her eyes and slowly reached for her totem. _Not a dream. NOTADREAM._ She assured herself as she cradled in her hand the familiar weight that soothed her.

"Are you guys okay?" Yusuf asked anxiously, looking at the three teammates that jolted awake. There was still time left on the timer.

"It's okay," Arthur said, not an answer to Eames' question but as an assurance for Ariadne who was still shaking on her recliner. He kneeled in front of her, to lower himself to her eye level, and gently stroked her cheek. "It's okay," he repeated, putting his forehead against hers and felt her pulse eventually slow down to a steady beat.

"I know." She pulled back and hid behind the curtain of her hair, suddenly embarrassed by her weakness. _Ugh. I'm so pathetic. _

Cobb narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything. The room fell into silence.

Eames broke the silence. "What is going on? You guys should be under for three more minutes," he demanded.

"Malfunction?" Saito suggested.

"Can't be. I checked _everything_ before we launched," Yusuf assured him.

"No, something in her dream rejected us. Some mechanism must have been triggered. When Ariadne tried to open this safe, we were pulled out of the dream," Cobb said thoughtfully.

"Isn't it _my _subconscious? Why would my own subconscious reject me?" Ariadne asked through gritted teeth. This had been her first time as the subject of a dream and she was not getting used to it.

"It can happen sometimes. If that safe was set up to be that way anyway. You need a password but you tried to force it open," the master extractor answered her.

"Well, I don't know what the pass code is," she muttered in frustration.

"Did you guys find anything else other than this 'safe'?" Saito asked.

"There weren't any memories missing. No sign of intrusion anyway. There weren't any subconscious record of her when she was younger than three but that's quite normal. Human brain normally doesn't keep records that old. The extractor must have failed extracting anything," Arthur said, still glancing in the direction of Ariadne worriedly. She looked a bit pale.

Extraction could be, not easily but still, tracked. The signs of extraction could be seen physically, like the scar on the wrist (although the chemical can be introduced into the blood through different body parts), or by the target's memory of a dream that was out of place. Also, if another person were to track the extraction in the subject's subconscious as Arthur and Cobb are doing, he or she will likely find signs of intrusions in the subconscious or some gaps and missing things. None of the in-dream evidences were present in Ariadne's subconscious.

"There were things that were a bit odd though," Cobb remembered. "There weren't many projections. Actually, there weren't _any_ in the central of her subconscious. My theory is that there was no need for the projection in the central. Projections mainly serve to protect the subconscious from outside intrusion. Since we told Ariadne that we were in a dream to help her, her subconscious knew that there was no need for protection, precisely the opposite, so there were no guards. But it's just a theory."

"Plausible," Saito agreed.

"But it might be that the safe _was_ the protection. It was quite effective in my opinion. It kept us out," Cobb added.

"What do you think is in that safe?" asked Ariadne. She knew that it was HER subconscious she was talking about but she really didn't have a clue. Hell, she didn't even know what the password was.

"Can't say. Maybe it's what the extractor wanted," Eames shrugged.

"Again, just a theory: Arthur said nothing was taken. I didn't find any traces of actual extraction occurring either. So if there are no gaps in hersubconscious, it might mean that that something in the safe may be an idea that had been built in to her subconscious. Could be inception…but if she's not aware of it, it must be like a reserved idea that can only be reached through the password. I've heard of something like that being done. I thought it was just a myth… Maybe we should try again-" Cobb mused.

"Maybe we shouldn't. It's just a theory. One hurricane is enough for one night Cobb," Arthur cut him off. "She should get some rest."

"Do I look that terrible?" Ariadne grinned but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Come on, I'll get you home," Arthur offered his hand to her. Ariadne didn't want to be babied by him so ignored his hand and stood up. She felt the blood rush to her head and her knees grow weak and she staggered, trying to gain balance. Strong pair of hands caught her before she hit the floor and she half expected them to belong to Arthur but was surprised when it was Eames who was supporting her. "Wow…this is embarrassing," she chuckled. "It's fine, love. I'm always available to catch a swooning princess," Eames joked.

"I got her, thanks," Arthur snapped and took her arm. Ariadne didn't struggle. She was too exhausted. It had been one hell of a night.

"You should be home. I'll drive you," he insisted. "But you don't have a car," Ariadne muttered tiredly. Her mind was clouding with sleep and exhaustion. "I'll take Cobb's," Arthur answered her and led her to the door.

Cobb stopped him, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "I need to talk to you," he said under his breath but the warning tone was evident in his voice.

"After I take the sleeping beauty home," Arthur said impatiently.

Eames chuckled when he heard that. "Let him go Cobb. You guys can talk after Arthur takes his _princess_ home safe and sound," he smirked. Arthur glared at him. Eames stuck out his tongue at him.

"Ugh fine. Just make it quick," Cobb groaned, throwing his keys to Arthur. Arthur caught it impressively with one hand while supporting sleeping Ariadne with the other.

"Thanks," he grinned and carried her out the door.

"Just come right back after you drop her off," Cobb called after him.

"What else would I _possibly_ do?" Arthur called back, laughter in his voice.

Eames rolled his eyes and laughed. _Oh you have NO idea. _

This was getting to be much more interesting than his "long vacation".


	10. Disappearing Act

**Hi everyone. Already the 10th chapter. I'm enjoying every minute of writing for other people that love to daydream about movies that I love. This whole fanfic writing this has been a very new experience for me. Believe it or not, it took me a while to figure out that the emails of 'story alerts' and 'author alerts' were actually talking about me and my story. Haha. Thank you everyone who put the story on alert or me. And a big thank you to everyone that wrote a review. They mean the world to me. Even if they shouldn't influence my mood, I can't help but be happy when I get wonderful reviews :)) I originally planned this fic to be about 25 chapters long. Hope I'm not boring you guys! It's going to be quite a different storyline than the movie. I hope everyone will choose to stick with it. **

**Enjoy!**

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It was distracting.

Not only was it distracting to have your date tossing and turning in the back seat of your car, occasionally kicking up her skirt up to a dangerously high proximity barely covering her underwear and revealing her slim legs, but what disturbed Arthur the most was that Ariadne was saying his name in her sleep.

It was just a soft whisper at first.

_Maybe she's saying martyr… I don't know why she would say that but you never know what kind of crazy dreams she might be having._

_Could be General Macarthur…starter…garter…cream of tartar…_

Arthur raked his brain to think of words that sounded even slightly like his name. At least that had his mind occupied on something other than _her._

Then she said it again.

"Arthur…"

Arthur froze.

_Okay…definitely my name. Keep your eyes on the road Arthur. That's what she's saying. Stop looking in the rearview mirror. Eyes on the road. _

He almost shut his eyes when she said it again for the third time. Her voice, no, her entire being definitely had this unsettling affect on him.

* * *

Arthur almost cried out in joy when he finally reached her apartment. He gently shook Ariadne awake. She moaned and swatted his hand away. "Arthur -" she said again.

"Alright alright, I'll carry you," Arthur grumbled and slung her arms over his shoulders and lifted her, carrying her on his back. Her cheek touched shoulder and he could feel her breath on his neck. Arthur gulped. _Just to the elevator. Just to the… DAMN._

He swore loudly when he saw a sign that said that the elevator didn't operate after 11 P.M. He was going to have to take the stairs.

Arthur wasn't complaining because she was heavy, no, on the contrary, she was very light. But he had to bite his cheek every time her lips accidentally bumped into his neck or when he had to readjust his hands beneath her thighs when she shifted in her sleep to keep himself under control. To keep his rationality. _It's just fourteen flights of stairs Arthur. Just fourteen GODDAMN flights of stairs. _

_

* * *

_

Ariadne's eyes fluttered open as she felt the ground rock below her. They were clouded with sleep and she could hardly make out the face that was in front of hers. _Who is that?_ She thought dreamily.

"Oh..it's Arthur," she giggled sleepily.

"Yes. It's Arthur," he said softly. "You awake now?"

"Nope. I must be dreaming because Arthur the point man is carrying me up the stairs," Ariadne said grandly, flinging her arms when she said his name. "Arthur doesn't carry people. He says "Although it may be too much for you to handle Ariadne, but you must get up right now and walk home like a sensible girl," " she imitated Arthur's stern tone and fell into a fit of laughter.

"Sounds like a jerk," Arthur smirked.

"Yea. He's a jerk. But I still like him though," she whispered dreamily. "It's a secret. Shhhhh." She closed her eyes and he felt her breath slow down as she fell once again back into sleep.

_Some secret. _He grinned.

_This _was why he liked _her. _

After fourteen flights of agonizing self-control, Arthur arrived at her doorstep. He nudged her lightly. "Where are your keys Ariadne?" Arthur asked her. "In my bag," she said, still half asleep.

_In her bag…which is in the car… crap…_

"Stay here Ariadne. Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back," Arthur told her, gently putting her down on to the floor. He leaned her against the door and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Okay," she murmured happily.

* * *

Arthur ran down the fourteen flights of stairs, no, he _flew_ down the fourteen flights of stairs. He jumped several steps in order to get down faster. "Shit," he swore loudly when he tripped on the step and scraped his palms. Arthur never fell accidentally..at least not _usually_. The last time he had fallen was when he was tackled by one of the security agents in Fischer's subconscious. Arthur chuckled and got up, brushed off his pants and ran down the stairs again. "Must be getting old," he muttered to himself. _Or must be falling head over heels._ His subconscious added, laughing deviously.

* * *

The corridor was strangely quiet. There was no relaxed breathing of Ariadne, echoing in the halls when Arthur came back upstairs, her keys in her hands. "Ariadne?" He called out but there was no answer. She wasn't where he had last left her. Arthur felt his heart beat quicken. _Keep calm. _He quickly dialed Cobb's number and impatiently paced as he heard the dial tone.

"Where are you Arthur?" Cobb snapped at him impatiently when he finally picked up.

"At her apartment, listen -"

"At her apartment? Still?" Cobb cut him off and Arthur heard Eames chuckle and wolf whistle in the background. "Arthur, stop being irresponsible and get th-"

This time, Arthur cut him off angrily, "Goddamn it! Listen to me Cobb. Ariadne's missing. I left her for five minutes outside her door and she's gone."

There was a moment of cold silence.

"Shit. I should have known. If she's been having the same dream for a week, the extractor must know where she lives. I'll be right there," Cobb said finally.

"Don't do anything rash Arthur," he added warningly but Arthur had already hung up.

* * *

He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up when he turned the doorknob of her door. It opened without a protest. Arthur closed his eyes and slowly opened it, trying his best not to make a sound.

His pulse quickened. It was quiet. Too quiet.

He slid quickly inside and froze when he heard a sudden rustle from behind him.

There had been a person hiding behind the door. Arthur spun around swiftly but he was too late.

"Hello," the stranger said, knocking him in the back of the head with a blunt object.

Arthur fell to the floor.


	11. Wherever

**Hello. It feels like it's been a while since I last posted. This chater took a while to write. And to be honest...it's not that great. I might come back and rewrite it. Hope it doesn't bore you :((( it would break my heart. **

**Please review :)**

**Enjoy!**

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He had a splitting headache. He was lying down sideways, his cheek on the cold cement floor, in the dark.

For a second, Arthur's mind went blank. Where was he?

But that was only for a second and the point man quickly gained his usual level-headedness and remembered that he had been hit over a head by someone. Someone who was likely to be the extractor. _Crap. _Arthur tried to remember his face but all he could recall were blurs and darkness of the gaps while he had been knocked out.

Arthur's arms were tied around that back. The extractor obviously had come prepared. He struggled violently in frustration against the firmly knotted ropes around his wrist. With his arms tied, he obviously couldn't use his totem to actually figure out if this was a dream or not. He also couldn't call Cobb. Dom must be wondering where the hell they disappeared to.

And Ariadne. She'd been taken too. Where was she?

"Damn," he swore loudly, trying, without avail, to untie the ropes.

_Keep calm. Aren't you supposed to be so damn good at that, Arthur? _His subconscious sneered.

_Great._ His subconscious always found the most convenient time to sneak a comment; a cynical but true comment at that. He needed to keep calm.

He sighed and decided to take the advice. Arthur sat up and leaned against the cold wall. With the usual sharp perception of his, Arthur slowly looked around the room. Dimly lit by a lamp that was on a shabby desk, the room seemed to be something like a warehouse. Through the darkness, Arthur could only make out the outlines of furniture that were sprawled out carelessly in the room. _No clock. No windows._ He noted when his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. Nothing looked even vaguely familiar.

Conclusion: No _fucking _idea where I am.

_Brilliant. Just brilliant Arthur. _

Arthur shut his eyes tightly, hoping desperately, for all this to be a dream or a figment of his (lacking) imagination when he opened them again. There was a rustle of movement in the room. His eyes fluttered open again and unfortunately the same dreary landscape lay before him, crushing his hopes. _Oh you really are pathetic._ He thought.

He froze when he heard another rustle of movement. A dark figure, which he had assumed to be pile of curtain on the floor, shifted and groaned.

"Ariadne?" he whispered uncertainly and the figure turned towards him. Ariadne sat up and looked around, puzzled. Why was she tied up? Why was she in this dark warehouse? And above all, why was Arthur here? "Am I still sleeping?" she said, confused. "Long dream…a weird one too," she murmured and tried to lie back down.

"No no no no no, Ariadne," Arthur cried out desperately. "This is _not _a dream. Well we don't know if we're in a dream or not yet but we do know that we are not in your dream. I brought you home remember? I carried you up the stairs and then told you to stay in front of the door while I ran and fetched your keys, but when I came back you were gone and then I went inside your house because the door was open. Then I was hit over the head and when I woke up, I was on the floor, tied up," he explained calmly when she sat up again.

Ariadne went quiet, entirely perplexed by what she was hearing. She felt humiliation creeping on to her face, turning it bright red. "Y-you carried me? Oh my god…It wasn't a dream. It was y-you. I said all those… SHIT!" she stuttered. "You heard me? Why didn't you stop me?" For a moment, she forgot that she and Arthur had been kidnapped by a total stranger and started freaking out. She had said things that she shouldn't have. She told the _truth. _Awkward truth at that! _UGH why couldn't you keep your big mouth SHUT for once! _She scolded herself.

"It was…cute," Arthur chuckled. "It seemed like you had a lot to say about me. Made me sound like a jerk," he said playfully.

"That's-that's because you _have_ been a jerk. Treating me like a total stranger after our date. Acting like you know better and treating me like a child. Ignoring me. It's damn infuriating if you must know," Ariadne retorted, listing the odd behaviors of Arthur. "Why were you acting like that anyway? Care to explain?" she huffed in frustration. She knew she was being childish but Ariadne wasn't used to caring about how guys (or in this case, one guy) acted around her. Heck, she wasn't even used to even _having _a guy like him around her. Throughout the evening, she had felt the frustration and anger building up, the pressure threatening to blow up. It had finally exploded. And it had caught her at a bad timing.

"Do you seriously want to do this _now?_ We've been _kidnapped _Ariadne," Arthur said dubiously.

"This is _exactly _what I'm talking about. You are talking to me as if I don't know better. As if I'm being unreasonable. I'm not being unreasonable. I just want to know why. That's not so much is it?" she shot back. "It's not like you have anything to hide, right?" she quoted him, smirking. Touch down! She had obviously won this argument. _For once. _Her mind commented.

Arthur grimaced. Looking at Ariadne's triumphant grin, he knew that he couldn't get out of this one. _You brought this upon yourself mate._ The voice in his head cackled. At least _he _seemed entertained. "Well…" he dragged, searching for other options other than listening to his crazy subconscious that was screaming _Tell the truth tell the truth tellthetruth!_. "Well?" Ariadne asked, her eyebrow raised and smirking smugly. "W-well, you…you were the one that's been _flirting _with Eames," Arthur choked out.

"What?" Ariadne exclaimed incredulously. She watched as Arthur sputtered and turned red in the dark. The realization dawned on her and she burst out laughing.

"You –you were JEALOUS!" Her laughter rang out in the dark room. "No!" he denied immediately but the blush on his face betrayed him. "Give it up Arthur. Might as well tell the truth now," Ariadne sang. "Well, I guess…just a _bit. _It's not _my _fault that you were being so friendly to all of them," Arthur defended himself, turning even redder.

"I didn't go on dates with the other guys," she said playfully.

"They never asked," he muttered grudgingly. _If Eames had asked her…oh god I don't' even want to think about it. _There were many aspects of this relationship between him and Ariadne that were uncertain. Too many unanswered questions, too many uncertainties, too many ifs. They were both new at this and his brain was about to explode thinking about what _she _was thinking. After all, he wasn't familiar with the '_female mystique_'. "If they did, it would be someone else with you right now," he sighed.

"I wouldn't have said yes anyway. They're not you," Ariadne said softly. Like Arthur, she had been riled up by the utter frustration of not knowing what the hell was going on in Arthur's head. She was a smart girl but Arthur's mind was a mystery never to be solved. With him, it was like her whole thinking was turning into a paradox; she was afraid to tell the truth but she wanted to know the truth. But right now, wherever the hell they were, she wanted to tell him the truth. She wanted to know him. And to do that, he needed to know her. "I said yes because I like you. I forgave you for being a jerk because I find it somewhat cute and relieving that you were jealous. So can you actually start telling me these things now? Don't keep me in the dark, no pun intended," she chuckled.

Even in the dark, her brown eyes were bright. Looking at her unwavering eyes, Arthur laughed with her. She was definitely the one. The one to make him feel normal. The one who enabled him to breathe. "You have no idea how glad I am to hear that."

"Also, stop being frigid and come sit next to me. It's freezing in here," she grinned. Arthur was all too happy to comply. They leaned against each other, feeling their arms growing warm with each other's body heat. Although they had been kidnapped, although their hands were tied, although they were probably in trouble, for that moment, it didn't matter anymore. The time seemed to stop in the darkness. There were no need for words. She rested her head against his shoulder and breathed in his scent. _Rain. _

She was lost in her contentment when she realized something was off. She stiffened and sat back up. Arthur looked at her, puzzled by her sudden reaction. "Ariadne?" he called carefully. "Hold on," she shushed him and leaned in, pressing her nose against his jacket. Arthur started blushing madly again, "Um… Ariadne?" he said again. When she faced him again, she was beaming happily. "Will you please tell me what's going on? You're starting to freak me out," he asked.

"This is a dream Arthur. We're in a dream!"


	12. The Encounter

**Hello everybody! Chapter 12. I got some questions about how she knew it was a dream and hopefully I explain it clearly in this chapter. This chapter is a bit romantic and I'm scared that there might be some out of characterness. I do try though. Please review!**

**Enjoy!**

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"We are in a dream?" he repeated uncertainly. "How do we know that?"

"You don't smell right," Ariadne announced triumphantly.

"I don't…smell right?" Arthur raised his eyebrow. Realizing the absurdity of her words, Ariadne turned scarlet with embarrassment.

"I- um n-not that I-I _purposely _smell you or anything," she stuttered. "Well I did smell you and right now you don't smell right."

"And what would be _right_?" he asked, clearly entertained by her reaction. Her cheeks were flaming with color and she had hard time meeting his eyes. She stared at the floor and hid behind the curtain of her brown curls. "Usually, you smell like …," Ariadne dragged. Her face felt like it was on fire. _Stupid Ariadne! Of course she says, "You don't smell right." Couldn't you have thought of something better? _She scolded herself. "Like?" Arthur whispered into her ear. His breath was warm against her red cheek. "Rain," she croaked and scooted away from him. He smirked.

"So I don't smell like rain huh?" he grinned, sniffing himself where his nose could reach. "And that's why we're in a dream?"

Ariadne shot a sharp glare at Arthur who clearly wasn't taking her seriously.

"Well there's another reason but if you want to mock me then might as well keep to it myself," she muttered nonchalantly, moving even further away from him.

"I'm sorry Ariadne. I take you completely seriously; it's just that…No one has ever told me what I smell like," Arthur chuckled, quickly moving closer to her, closing the gap that she made. "Please tell me?" The architect scoffed, turning away. "Please?" he whispered into her ear again. She shuddered. "Don't think that that's going to work twice," she snorted but Arthur heard a quiver in her voice. "What about this?" he murmured and leaned in to kiss her. He pressed his lips against hers softly but firmly, feeling her rapid and warm breath in his mouth. She almost moaned when he sneakily licked her lips.

With all the self control she had, Ariadne pulled away, gasping. "I thought _I _was the irresponsible and ill-timed one," she struggled to catch her breath. She felt her heart beating, no _banging_, against her ribcage. "You are," Arthur grinned, leaning in again. This time, Ariadne dodged him in time. "Are you trying to seduce me Arthur?" she laughed. "Yes, but apparently I seem to be doing a bad job seeing that you won't tell me," he pouted dramatically. _Wow mate. Acting like ridiculously WITHOUT my help! It's a miracle. _His subconscious chuckled. "You kissed me to get the answer?" Ariadne huffed. "No, I just thought it was cute how you _smell _me. Rain, eh?" Arthur cracked up. "Shut up," she rolled her eyes, and pushed him playfully. "Tell me or I'll kiss you again," he muttered jokingly. "Isn't it supposed to be the other way?" she asked, confused. "If I kiss you again, I'm not sure if I have the self-control to keep it as _just _a kiss," he smirked and leaned in dangerously close. Ariadne gulped and leaned back. "The wine stain. It's not there," she choked out.

The point man straightened up as if nothing had happened between them just minutes ago. "Worked like a charm," he mused, staring at his jacket. As Ariadne had said, there was no wine stain. At least it had some useful purpose. "Nice catch," Arthur winked at her. She was at loss of words. "You are unbelievable. One instance you are acting like Cobb. Then in the next, you act like Eames." He cringed at Eames' name but grinned quickly. "But you still like me, right?" he quoted her. At first, she had no idea what he was talking about but started turning crimson when she realized it was what _she _had said. When she was sleeping. Thinking that he was part of her dream. When she totally screwed up. _Crap. _"Arthur –"she broke out angrily but was interrupted midsentence when the door swung open, filling the room with sudden brightness. The door that hadn't existed before. The door that just appeared on the wall, out of nowhere.

_Definitely a dream. _ Arthur thought.

Through her squinted eyes, Ariadne saw a silhouette walk through the magic door. "Hello," the figure said. It was a voice that Arthur had heard before. When her eyes adjusted to the brightness, the architect was face to face with glistening green eyes. _Eyes like that of a cat. _

Her extractor had been a girl.

A girl not older than her with flowing red hair stood in the door way. She was beautiful, almost perfect with her slim but curvy figure and sculpted face, but everything about her screamed 'danger'. Her emerald eyes gleamed. "As much as I _love _to hear you love birds yelp at each other, it's about time that I butt in. My name is Phaedra but you may call me Phee if you want to," she announced, settling down gracefully on the desk.

"We already know this is a dream so no threat of yours will work," Arthur growled, glaring at her. He didn't like the way her eyes flashed. It was unlike those of Ariadne's eyes; dangerous and cruel. "Oh did you now? Don't worry. Lesson learned. I won't miss the scent next time," she smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. They remained cold and unwavering on Arthur's face. _She had been listening._

"Who are you anyway? Are you the one screwing Ariadne?" Phaedra grinned, flashing her white teeth. "I'm not -" "He's not screwing me," they both yelled at the same time. Ariadne turned pink and Arthur kept his cold glare fixed on her face. "Did you seriously just say that like it was a good thing?" Phaedra smirked. "How do you know me anyway?" Ariadne asked uncertainly. "I know a lot about you. More than _you _probably know," Phaedra said, walking closer to her. "Ariadne and Phaedra. Do the names ring a bell?" she purred, leaning in close to her face.

Ariadne's head went blank while staring into her green, bright cat-eyes. She no longer sensed Arthur's presence next to her nor did she feel the cold floor beneath her knees. Just the pair of emerald eyes, sucking her in.

_Ariadne and Phaedra. Ariadne and Phaedra. Ariadne and Phaedra. _Somewhere in her mind, she remembered reading a Greek myth when she was young.

"Sisters…" she breathed, her eyes still fixed onto Phaedra's.

"Bingo."


	13. Nightmare

**Hello everyone. Okay. To be really frank, this chapter might be crap... first off, I am in a bad mood cuz my school starts tomorrow. Yes... oh joy. And secondly, this chapter is kind of the boring chapter where you kinda need it to connect the story but is...well... boring. **

**I'm depressed cuz I have to go to school which means less frequent updates. Cheer me up please with some nice comments. or even critiques. Just anything to make me realize that there are people reading this.**

**Sighhhhhhh, anyway...**

**Enjoy!**

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"Bingo," Phaedra beamed satisfyingly and patted Ariadne on her head. "We will be great sisters. I'll call you Ria if you don't mind, Ariadne is a mouthful."

Ariadne flinched but remained silent, her eyes empty and staring into space. She felt her mind going white, her awareness of her surroundings being wiped clean and being replaced by the rising panic that was threatening to drown her completely. _Sisters…_

"Don't touch her," Arthur growled, struggling against the ropes that restricted his movements. _There was NO way in hell that this woman is Ariadne's sister._

"Relax cowboy, it's not like I'm going to hurt Ria. She shares my genes, at least half of them anyway," she smirked. _Bullshit. _He screamed in his head and pulled at the ropes, turning his wrists red. His dark angry eyes met her green dangerously bright ones and the tension in the room thickened, threatening to snap. It was Phaedra who turned away first; she flipped her crimson hair and backed away from Ariadne. Only when Phaedra sat back down on the desk, Arthur relaxed and let his arms go slack against the restrictions. But he kept his glowering eyes on her, watching the extractor's every movement. "I'm not going to do anything to you guys so you can stop watching me like a hawk too," she said without glancing his way. "Why did you bring us here then?" he glared at her. "I didn't mean to bring _you_ as well," she snarled angrily, "but I didn't have a choice. If I didn't bring you with me, you would have ruined everything." "It seemed like you weren't very _successful _at extracting anything from her anyway. Isn't that why you returned?" he said coldly. Phaedra narrowed her eyes threateningly and jumped off the desk, knocking the lamp aside. She let it fall to the floor and land with the crash. The glass shattered and skittered across the room. The room fell into pitch black darkness. Arthur froze, unblinking, as she stepped closer to him, stepping on the glass shards.

Phaedra leaned in close so her face was just inches away from his. He watched as her beautiful face crumple in anger. "I wouldn't anger me if I were you," she hissed. "This is _my _dream and I can make it your personal nightmare." With her words, the roof of the building started crumbling down, leaving the room bare at the top. The sun was right above them and the sudden brightness made Arthur cringe. They were about five floors above the ground and Arthur could see the projections looking up at them, bewildered. Suddenly, the sky turned dark, the clouds covering the sun, and rain started pouring down. The projections detected a breach in their subconscious level and started running towards the building.

"Bad weather or height will do little to scare me," Arthur murmured.

"But pain will," Phaedra snarled and slashed his cheek with a glass shard. The blood ran down his face, mixed with the falling rain. There was no fear on his face as he stared at her calmly with unwavering eyes. She felt her composure crumble as he remained unmoved by her threats. She grabbed a longer and sharper shard and raised her arm to strike him in the chest when she heard Ariadne whisper.

"Only child. I'm an… only child," Ariadne whispered, her voice barely audible against the pouring rain. Phaedra dropped the glass and walked in front of her. "I don't have a sister…I was adopted," Ariadne repeated, her face blank. "Is that what your _father_ told you?" Phaedra spat angrily. Outside the door, the projections were gathering, banging the door.

"You knew my father?" Ariadne suddenly became aware of the mess around her. She blinked against the rain and looked up at the extractor's angry face. "You knew him?" she asked again, her voice was shaking.

"He's not your father," Phaedra screeched, shaking Ariadne back and forth.

"Step away from her."

Phaedra felt a cold edge press against her neck. "You shouldn't leave sharp objects around," Arthur muttered coldly as he threw the remains of the ropes onto the floor. "Lesson learned," she smirked and raised her hands in the air, stepping away from Ariadne.

There was a sudden explosion and the building started crumbling down. "What are you doing?" he shouted but Phaedra looked just as surprised as them. The tremors of the ground send them all on to the floor. "I'm not the one doing this," Phaedra screeched, crawling under the desk. Arthur ran to Ariadne who was shaking in fear. "What's going on," she shrilled. "The subconscious equilibrium has been disturbed. I think we're being woken up," he quickly explained and pulled himself over her, protecting her from the debris that was flying around. Ariadne felt the view spinning and focusing in and out. She felt herself fading. Slowly, the dream was being overwhelmed by the darkness. Soon, all went dark.

* * *

It was loud. She heard something crash and someone shouting but she didn't dare move. Ariadne heard someone call her name over the noise but she kept her eyes closed.

She felt the soft covers beneath her and she sighed in relief. She stroked the bed sheets and then slid her hands down to her pocket and found the chess piece. Running her finger over the concave that she made at the bottom of it, Ariadne felt relief flood over her. Someone shook her lightly. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw Yusuf standing over her worriedly. She was in her room. Everything was clustered messily and the device was flung open on the floor, its wires tangled. The room was empty except for her, Yusuf and Saito who were sitting by the bed, watching her incredulously.

"Are you okay? You weren't answering me," he frowned, waving his hand in front of her face. "I'm fine," she breathed and cringed when the room began to spin when she got up. "Just a bit light-headed. Where's Arthur?" "After the red head," Saito replied. "She ran as soon as she woke up. Cobb and Eames are also after her." "Who is she anyway?" Yusuf asked curiously as he gave her a cup of water to drink.

_My sister._ Her hands started trembling, threatening to give in and drop the cup. _  
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"I don't know," Ariadne muttered.


	14. The Close Encounter

**HI. I know it's been a while. Sorry things have been CRAZY to say the least with all the school stuff going on. I really will try to upload as frequently as possible. I really love writing and getting lovely comments for them and I don't want to give it up for the world. But school work does kind of make it hard. But I will try! Please review,it makes me happy :)  
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**Enjoy!**

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_Damn… this girl is FAST. _Eames sprinted after her, chasing after the flash of red hair as it turned the corner swiftly. They had been on this 'merry chase', as Arthur would call it, down the narrow alley way for more than ten minutes. Arthur and Eames had fallen behind a while ago, lost in the complicated back street of Paris. It was dark and the streets were empty. The tightly knit and narrow alley was a clear advantage for the girl who was slimmer than him. He was a fast runner and he had always thought of himself highly for that, but right then, he felt like he was always one or two steps behind her, not fast enough to close the gap between them. There was _no way in hell _that he was going to lose to a _girl. Losing _in general was not what Eames was used to. And he wasn't planning on ever becoming so. The forger sped up, willing his legs to run faster.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Eames saw the girl turn into another steep corner. Naturally, she had to slow down in order not to crash against the walls. Right then, the red-head was within his arm distance and without missing this chance, Eames lunged himself at her. They both fell to the floor with a thump. Phaedra felt air leave her lungs as he knocked the breath out of her. She gasped and scrambled for breath as she struggled against the burly man. "Get _off _me," she spat. He felt her writhe beneath him, kicking and punching. Eames chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist tighter. "If I get off of you, darlin', you'll start running and I would have to chase you all over again," he laughed humorously. "Although, I do love chasing after beautiful girls." He leaned in close to her face, eyes studying her face.

_This man is MOCKING me. _She felt his breath, hot against her face as his grey eyes traced her features. Her eyes couldn't help but do the same; his features were rugged, unlike Arthur's clean shaven face, but it was the stubbles that gave him the attractive masculinity. His eyes were what caught her attention. It was the color of an angry sea, deep and stormy. His lips were smiling but his eyes were serious and hard. Looking into his eyes, she slowly felt herself being sucked into them and stopped struggling against him.

"You like what you see?" he smirked when he noticed her staring. Phaedra hissed and started kicking against him again, even more furiously than before. _Ugh, what are you DOING? _She scolded herself for being distracted. And by this _maddening _man to make it worse! "No use, sweetheart," he mocked.

_Let's see about THAT! _"I'm not your _sweetheart,_" she snarled and crashed her head against his. Eames yelped in pain and let go of her, and she shoved him away and tried to run. He immediately got up and grabbed her wrist. He swung her, sending her crashing back to his chest. She jabbed her fist at his jaw and he released her again, groaning. She turned to run again, but this time, she was stopped by other man that was after her.

Cobb grabbed her arms behind her and tied them together with his tie. "I got her Arthur," he called to Arthur who ran up behind him, arriving at the scene last. "I'm not sure if a tie is going to contain her Cobb," Arthur warned. "Yea, Cobb. Knock her out or something," Eames slurred. "What happened to you?" Cobb exclaimed, examining Eames' disarrayed clothing and bruise that was forming on her forehead. He was holding his jaw and moaning. "Arthur and Ariadne's _lovely _companion just punched me in the face," he muttered sarcastically. Phaedra glared at him. "I would have done more if I wasn't so _repulsed _by the idea of touching you," she growled, kicking in his direction. Cobb pulled her back, restraining her. "I see that you guys already made friends," Cobb chuckled. "Let's get back," Arthur murmured.

Ariadne tapped her foot impatiently, looking up at the clock every five seconds. "You should stop biting your lips or there won't be any left" Saito advised, looking up from the newspaper that he was reading.

It had been almost fifty minutes since she had woken up from the disturbing dream to find that Arthur was gone after the extractor. Saito and Yusuf had stayed behind to take her to the warehouse. Since then, they had been waiting patiently; Saito reading the newspaper and Yusuf researching for the new formula that he was working on. Ariadne, on the other hand, had been coming up with every single bad situation that Arthur might be in. _What if she had a gun? What if… _Biting her lips had been the only thing that had stopped her from losing her head completely and scream or cry. Pushing the pessimistic thoughts out of her mind, she licked her lips, finding them swollen and bleeding. The metal taste of blood made her cringe. _Where are they?_

The architect ran to the door when she heard the elevator chime outside. She flung open the door and found them standing outside. Arthur stood nearest to the door, his eyes wide, surprised by her sudden appearance. "You're okay!" she grinned widely, scanning him head to toe. "Uh…yes," Arthur choked out in surprise when Ariadne hugged him. She let go of him immediately, turning bright red, when she heard Saito stifle his laughter behind her. Cobb narrowed his eyes but walked past them, pulling Phaedra into the office with him. She hissed.

"Aw, no hug for me? I'm the one that's injured," Eames whined, rubbing his bruised forehead. "What happened?" Yusuf asked curiously. "The girl kicked his ass," Arthur smirked, immediately feeling better with her. "She _head-butted _me!" Eames exclaimed, shaking his head.

"Who is she anyway?" he asked Arthur. Ariadne froze at the question. The carefree grin was wiped off of Arthur's face and was replaced by cold uneasiness. "Her name is Phaedra… She says she's my sister," she said nervously after a moment of hesitation. "_Half _sister. And it's NOT true," Arthur growled at Eames and Yusuf who were at loss of words, their jaws dropped open. "Still, we can't ignore the possibility," Cobb interjected, locking the office door behind him. They could hear Phaedra banging at the door, rattling the door knob from the inside, demanding to be released.

"She's NOT her sister," Arthur repeated coldly, glaring at the rattling door knob. "Let's just hand her over to the police." "For what? Kidnapping you and Ariadne into her subconscious? NO PROOF. Inflicting physical harm on Eames? She'll just say that he was forcing himself on her. She'll be released immediately and that would be even more dangerous. You _know _that better than me Arthur," Cobb growled angrily. "Be rational."

"Be _rational? _Ariadne had been _taken,_" Arthur spat. The air around them turned tense and cold. The rest of the team backed away slightly, afraid of what'll happen if they snapped.

"More the reason why we should keep her here. She's staying _here_, under our watch," Cobb said authoritatively, emphasizing every word with gravity.

Cold silence haunted the room as Arthur glared at Cobb and none of the members dared to move. Even the banging of the office door seemed to stop for a moment. Ariadne reached for Arthur's arm and tugged at his sleeve. "I think Cobb is right, Arthur," she whispered carefully, curling her finger around his rough hand. "And if she really is my sister, I wouldn't want her to be hurt." She felt his hand flinch at her words but nodded curtly. "Fine. But I'm bringing Ariadne with me in case something comes up," he snapped and strode to the door, taking Ariadne with him. "We still need to talk Arthur," Cobb called after him warningly but Arthur ignored him and banged the door close behind them.

"Whoa… anger management," Eames chuckled as he heard the furious footsteps outside fade into silence. "Where are you all going?" he asked when the rest of the team starting packing their bags and headed towards the door. "Back to my hotel. I just wanted to check up on Ariadne in the first place anyway," Saito said nonchalantly, grabbing his news paper and left. Although he rarely showed it, Saito had grown to become fond of the girl. "I have research to do," Yusuf said and followed after Saito. "I need to start researching on that Phaedra girl. I think I'll visit Miles. He might know something," Cobb grumbled, stuffing the wires into the silver suit case. "I'll come with you," Eames started after Cobb but he was stopped by the ex-extractor. "No you are not. Someone needs to watch over her," he said, pointing his chin towards the office door. Magically, it came to life again, banging and struggling against its hinges. "Are you kidding?" Eames echoed dubiously. "She seems to like you," Cobb smirked sarcastically, pointing as his bruise. "Bye Eames. Good night." He turned and without looking back, closed the warehouse door behind him.

Eames heard the muffled screaming and banging coming from behind the locked office door.

"Brilliant," he groaned.


	15. Rediscovery

**Hello everyone. I know it's been a while. It certainly feels that way! It has been crazy with all the APs and that school crap. I am most likely going to upload every weekend. PLEASE DON'T FORGET ME :( It makes me really sad that I'm not getting as many feedbacks anymore. But I am still going to be posting don't worry.**

**Enjoy!**

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The sleek black car raced down the dark street. Outside was dimly lit by street lamps and it was completely deserted and silent except for the quiet rumble of the car. The headlights danced on the floor as Arthur drove faster and faster, making the car bump and rock on the old pavement. Impenetrable silence loomed the car and Ariadne tightened her grip around her totem. She glanced in the direction of Arthur but sighed and turned away when it was clearly written on his face that he was deep in thought. His eyes were fixed straight on the dark road and his lips were pressed together in a thin line, jaw tense and hard.

It had been like this since they walked out of the warehouse together, leaving behind their teammates. Arthur hadn't said anything when they got into the car. He remained silent when they picked up her things from Ariadne's apartment. And now, driving to Arthur's place, Ariadne felt like she was choking under the heavy silence and tension. She finally cracked under pressure when Arthur pulled over in the hotel parking lot.

"Arthur?" she whispered carefully, touching his hand that gripped the handle. It was cold. He flinched away from her touch but regretted it as soon as he saw the hurt cloud her chocolate brown eyes.

"Sorry. I-I just have a lot on my mind right now," he explained apologetically and reached for her hand. "You agreed to tell me what you feel," she muttered, avoiding his hand. She stared straight into his dark eyes. "I'm not as weak as you think I am. You don't have to hide things from me, afraid of hurting me. I can handle it," she said, her eyes unwavering.

Arthur felt his uncertainty melt under her honest eyes. Like the first time they had met, she had always been clearheaded but brave, unafraid of running head first into problems unlike Arthur who always tested the water carefully before diving in. She was right. She was many things but she certainly was not a coward; he knew that better than anyone. But that scared him even more; in time, there would be problems that she couldn't solve even with her bravery. When that time came, she would break and be left vulnerable. Remembering Phaedra's feline green eyes, he had a bad creeping feeling that this may be that problem. He wanted to avoid it and that was why he suggested handing Phaedra over to the police. For Ariadne.

But looking into her brown eyes, he realized he had to give up. He was no match for her determination and sincerity. She was ready, like always, to face whatever the ugly situation that awaited her. Cowering away was not her option. The best he could do was stand by her and be there for her. "I know you're not weak. It was me who is being weak. I-I don't like what's happening Ariadne and I wish you wouldn't get involved in it," he admitted. Ariadne opened her mouth in protest but Arthur interrupted her, "-But I can see now that you will never agree to that. But just promise me that you won't do anything rash. And that you'll let me be involved," he finished quickly and smiled tiredly. "How'd you know I would want to be involved in this?" she asked dubiously. "It's quite obvious. You can't stand not knowing what's going on. You can be quite a big of a pain in the ass to be really honest," Arthur said jokingly. She grinned widely and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you," she whispered into his ear. "For what?" Arthur murmured against her soft curls. "For being honest with me."

* * *

They didn't say anything else after that. But it was unlike the silence that plagued the car before. There was nothing more to be said, everything was right again.

_Well not everything. Someone tried to extract you and that crazy cat lady is saying that she's your half-sister. _Her subconscious reminded her. Ariadne pushed the thought back to the back of her head and couldn't help but smile as Arthur wove his long fingers in hers.

"Welcome back Mr. Smith," the man at the counter greeted Arthur with a thick French accent. "And this must be the Mrs. Smith," he added, acknowledging Ariadne who felt her face grow warm with happiness. Arthur just smirked knowingly and received the card key. "Enjoy your stay," the man said, waving after the couple.

"Mr. Smith?" Ariadne said skeptically when they got into the elevator. "That's the most generic American last name ever," she cracked up. "Eames and Cobb did always say that I lacked in imagination," he admitted. "It's okay. I have enough for the both of us," she quipped, giving his hand a squeeze playfully. "Hmm really?" he snickered and pulled her close to kiss her on the nose. She giggled and tiptoed to kiss him. She felt herself being infused with the smell of rain as their lips met. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly, feeling her shudder in the sheer passion of the kiss. They were caught completely off guard when the elevator opened. A middle aged man averted his eyes to the ceiling as if something invisible had caught his eyes and coughed uncomfortably. "Good evening," Arthur sputtered as Ariadne pulled him out of the elevator in fits of laughter.

"Did you see his face?" she laughed, throwing her bag on to the bed. "Yes, I did. I was afraid he might have a heart attack," Arthur joked as he locked the room door behind him. "I've never done anything like that," she sighed, kicking off her shoes and sat down on the soft bed. "Kiss people in the elevator? I certainly hope not," he frowned as he took of his suit jacket. "Aw are you being jealous?" she cooed teasingly. "I thought it was cute," he grinned, sitting next to her on the bed and leaning in dangerously close. She felt her breath leave her lungs as he stared down at her, smile spreading slowly on his face. Her mind went completely blank and she found herself with nothing to say.

The realization had come over her: she was in a hotel room with Arthur. Alone… together.. _Crap. Think of something funny and sarcastic to say like you always do. COME ON,_ she urged herself. "..Uh… so where am I sleeping?" she croaked. _Brilliant Ariadne. Very sexy…not_

"I had to get a room with one bed or else it would have seemed suspicious since they think you are my wife," he smirked, raising his eyebrow. "I'll sleep on the couch," he said, walking over to the leather sofa. "No, you don't have to," she cried. "…what I mean is… I don't mind sleeping with you. Oh no what I really mean is," she stuttered nervously, turning bright red. "I get what you mean Ariadne," he laughed. "You can shower first." "Okay," Ariadne gulped and headed to the shower with her clothes.

* * *

Suddenly, she felt very very uncomfortable. Actually, she had felt this way ever since she had realized that they were alone together in a hotel room…after their first date. Of course, they weren't there romantically or anything. It was more because there may be dangerous people trying to extract her including her apparently-half-sister of hers and she had to stay with Arthur so he could protect her, but it was still uncomfortable. _Very._

Ariadne felt her head swirl and flopped down onto the bed. She sighed against the soft bed sheets as her wet hair left wet splotches on it. She had come out of the shower a few minutes ago and now Arthur was in the bathroom. Her stomach churned as she heard the sound of water hitting the cold bathroom tiled floor. _Why can't bathrooms be sound-proof? _She closed her eyes and urged herself to not think of Arthur in the shower with no avail. _I'm not a pervert. I'm not a pervert. I'm not a pervert. I'm not a…_ She chanted in her head as she felt fatigue come crashing over her. Soon, she drifted to sleep.

"Ariadne?" Arthur called, drying his wet hair with a towel. It was quiet outside. He felt cold uneasiness run down his spine and ran out of the bathroom. Ariadne was sleeping soundly on the bed, her wet hair spread around her head. _Paranoia_, his subconscious sang. Arthur ignored it and pulled the cover over Ariadne. "You're gonna catch a cold if you don't dry your hair you know," he murmured softly, wrapping her hair in the towel. She smiled contently in her sleep as he dried her hair.

"Night Ariadne," he whispered, switching off the lights. He lay down on his couch and drifted in to sweet, uninterrupted dream that he had not had for a long long time.


	16. The Idiot and The Crazy

**Hi everyone! theH again. I missed you guys :( It took me a while to get this chapter right. I hope you guys enjoy it though! And please review! I love reading the reviews during school week cuz they make me feel so much better and they motivate me! And also, I might upload two chapters next week so look out for that!**

**Enjoy!**

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What had he _ever _done wrong?

All he wanted was just some entertainment in his life; mainly from the new 'item', Ariadne and super awkward Arthur. Yea, he did pull a prank or two but was that so wrong?

So wrong that he deserved to be stuck in the warehouse with a crazy cat woman?

When something went wrong, his mother, a devout Christian as well as a heavy alcoholic, would point to the sky and say, "Someone up there is pissed." Eames would grumble something like, "More like piss _drunk… _like you," and earn a few slaps in the back. If his mother had been right, someone up there _was _definitely mad at him. When Eames wanted some sprinkle of humor in his life, someone up there decided to spice his whole life up a bit for him… with head butts and mad screaming. But because he wasn't a devout Christian, Eames just decided to blame Cobb for his agony.

"LET ME OUT YOU PRICK," Phaedra screeched through the locked office door, emphasizing every word with a bang on the door. Eames groaned loudly, burying his face into his palms. Cobb was definitively going to pay for this.

She had been going on since two hours ago and the chance of Eames ever going to go to sleep seemed to fall slightly with each scream and each bang on the door. At first, he had ignored her. But that soon became impossible as she started calling him in every possible combination of profanities in an even louder voice. He argued. He tried to convince. He begged. He _even _said please.

At last, he completely snapped. He yelled back through the door. When she didn't stop, he accompanied his yelling with his own banging. She seemed to be encouraged by the reaction and started throwing herself to the door to outdo his banging. When Eames got too tired to yell and whacking the door, he gave up and settled down in front of the door. And her? She went right back to screaming and trying to smash the door open.

"OPEN THE DOOR!" Following her scream, more pain and violence was inflicted upon the door.

"God. And I thought my mother was hysteric…" he murmured tiredly into his hand.

"OPEN THE _FUCKING_ DOOR!" The door rattled violently.

Eames felt his temper snap. _Again._

"Fuck you Cobb. You brought this upon yourself," he grunted and got up. He started rummaging through Yusuf's desk, carelessly scattering Yusuf's papers on to the floor. He ran his fingers over the rows of bottles in the drawer and he randomly picked one out.

"Quick Knockout: works immediately, no limbo side effects… blah blah blah," he drawled, reading Yusuf's messily written label on the bottle. "…for emergencies only." The forger grinned devilishly. "This is certainly an emergency.

"OPEN UP NOW!" Phaedra screamed in the background.

"I'm coming sweetheart," Eames smirked.

* * *

What had she _ever _done wrong?

All she wanted to do was complete her mission. Yes, she did break into her half-sister's house and semi-kidnap her and tried to extract her but it was all to complete her mission. Was that so wrong?

So wrong that she deserved to be locked in a room guarded by a complete idiot?

When something went wrong, she would make it right again. She didn't have anyone to do it for her nor was she allowed to let it go because of _him_. _He _didn't allow failures. And this was a failure. And she needed to fix it. That fact was the only thing that had kept her sanity intact while she screamed through the door, attempting to break the damn door down.

At first, she tried to find a tool in the room to get her out. But it seemed like the room had been completely cleared weeks ago and there was only a thick layer of dust on the desk. The only way she could get out of here was by taking the door down or driving the idiot outside insane by screaming non-stop. She decided to do both of them at once.

_Why didn't I bring a gun?_

_Why did I lose my temper with her boyfriend?_

_Why did I hesitate to take that IDIOT down?_

Phaedra's subconscious proceeded to blame herself while she took her anger out on the door. "OPEN UP NOW," she screamed. She threw herself against the door, when miraculously, the door swung open. She cringed, shutting her eyes, expecting herself to fall onto the hard concrete floor. But then, a pair of well toned arms caught her and she froze in surprise. When she opened her eyes, her green eyes met a pair of grey eyes. Eyes like the stormy sea.

"Watch out princess," the idiot grinned wolfishly

She remained frozen for a few minutes but started struggling violently in his arms. "LET GO OF ME!" she cried, kicking at him.

"You really need to stop shouting darling. You'll lose your lovely voice," he snickered as he snaked his arms around her even more tightly, constricting her movement completely.

"YOU FUC-," her angry screaming was cut off when he covered her mouth with a handkerchief.

"What did I tell you about screaming hon'?" he pouted sarcastically.

Phaedra felt the room spin and his grey eyes blurring as she struggled to keep her heavy eyelid open. _That son of a… _Her mind went blank and her arms fell by her sides, completely slack.

"Goodnight sweetheart. I'd tell you that I'll miss your screaming, but then I would be lying," Eames laughed and carefully laid her down on to the cold floor. "Worked like a charm. Thank you Yusuf, you put your talent in some _real _good cause, mainly saving me from going completely insane," he said, putting the bottle back into Yusuf's drawer.

"What do I do now," he sighed happily, enjoying the sudden peace in the warehouse. "What do you want to do darlin'?" he smirked, poking at Phaedra who remained motionless on the floor. He yawned loudly. _I really need to go to sleep. _The crazy violent girl had kept him awake and now that she was harmless and unconscious, he could enjoy his sleep. The problem was how to keep her under control while asleep…

_I could tie her down or something,_ he thought but he quickly dismissed the idea. _It'll take more than just ropes to keep her still…_

_I could lock her back into the office… but she'd start freaking out again…_

Eames looked around the warehouse for ideas when the silver suitcase in the corner caught his eye.

"If I bring her into my dream as a subject, I'll be able to keep her in check AND sleep! I'm a genius!" he said cheerfully and quickly set up the machine, untangling the long tubes. "I might even find out why she's here. You'll thank me for this Arthur," he smirked, imagining the point man's stern face. _"I don't think this is wise Eames," _the imaginary Arthur warned. "I know it's not wise… it's _brilliant_," Eames dismissed his imagination and stuck the needle into his wrist, cringing slightly. Making sure she didn't stir, he then pierced the needle into the extractor's thin, pale wrist.

"We're in for a wild ride darling," he laughed and pushed the button.


	17. Dramatic Irony

**Hi everyone! Yes yes I said I might be able to post two chapters this week but I couldn't :( sorry. This chapter took me so long to write. I had a minor writer's block. I spaced out in front of the computer for hours. Hope it's not as crap as I thought it was (fingers crossed). If you learned play terms in English, you will get my title joke. Or not. I have always been a bad joke teller. Anyways please review. I'm very happy that I have almost hundred reviews. You guys are amazing!**

**Enjoy!**

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He slowly opened his eyes as the familiar scenery of a busy market place unfolded before him.

The thick smell of spices and water pipe hung in the air, and the colorful draperies hung from window to window. The heat, the humidity, the scent, Eames was quite accustomed to them; having grown up in Kenya for most of his life. But the sense of ease and comfort of home wasn't there. Something was off…_very _off.

Amongst the vibrant colors, the girl's projections were all in black, mismatching and alien to the scenery. They were neither smiling nor glaring; just blank faces, empty of emotion, floated past him. He ignored them and looked around for the red-head but there was no sign of her in the market; just a swarm of blank faces. Eames felt a sudden chill as the haunting figures surrounded him; their emotion-drained faces looking back at him. He found himself being swept away by the sea of emptiness and Eames desperately tried to get past the crowd.

_Goddamnit_. _What is up with her projections? _Out of desperation, he shoved one of the projections harshly, causing him to fall down. But none of the projections seemed surprised and without any reaction, the projection that fell down got up and returned to where he originally was. The empty eyes of the projections overwhelmed Eames. The dead eyes were all too familiar for Eames…_What is this?_

The cold, discomforting silence was shattered by a gunshot. The first gunshot was followed by others and several projections around Eames fell to the floor silently.

_SHIT she's been trained! _The forger realized as three men with guns began chasing after him through the crowd. "_I told you so Eames, OF COURSE she's freaking trained, she's an extractor for christ's sake. Why don't you ever-," _the imaginary Arthur snapped angrily at him. "Oh shut up Arthur," Eames grumbled, shaking the thought aside. He shoved past the dead-eyed projections until he finally made it through the crowd. Angry shouts and gun fires rang behind him. "At least there's some level of emotional response from them…" Eames mused as he made his way into the dark alleyway.

When he was sure that he had lost the guards, Eames slowed down to catch his breath. "This is gonna become a habit…running down alleyways," he huffed, sitting down on the dusty floor. "Cobb is going to totally blow if he finds out that I used real places to build," he chuckled to himself. _"Never build from memory. You can lo-" _the extractor scolded him. "Yea yea..you can lose yourself in the dream blah blah blah. Not you too, Dom. Get out of my head," Eames pushed the yammering extractor to the back of his subconscious.

He checked his watch; he had set the timer to 10 minutes which gave him 100 minutes down here. He still had more than an hour left. _Great.._

"Maybe I should just give this up now and kill myself," he muttered. "But what would I kill myself with? Dust? Besides I didn't even find where that crazy girl is… It would be quite embarrassing for me to just leave like this…"

Then he realized that he was talking to himself. "Maybe I'm going crazy…" he mused.

In the eerie silence of the dark corridor, he felt the nostalgic sense of aloneness creeping up on him.

_Eames.. Eames… Eames.. _Her voice whispered quietly in the wind.

It was happening again. It was her. Again...

Before she could fully form in his mind, Eames shut his eyes and pushed the image of emerald eyes out of his head.

_Eames…why? _

"Shut up Sophie.."

_Why?_

"Because you are dead," he snarled through his clenched teeth, burying his face further into his hands. The buzzing of her voice hissed angrily, all blurring into static.

"What are you doing?" A voice cut through the noise and the static stopped suddenly.

Eames slowly raised his head.

"Who's Sophie?" a little girl cocked her head to her side, her glittering green eyes filled with curiosity. Unlike all the other projections, she was dressed in a white frock. Her red ringlets framed her pale face.

_Oh great… Now a little girl projection is talking to me. I must be going completely bonkers…_ Eames thought.

"Are you deaf? Or mute?" The little girl sat down next to him and poked his arm gently. "Maybe you're both. I've never actually met one of those before," she grinned and tugged at his sleeve.

"That's rude you know," he finally said to her. The girl yelped in surprise and fell back on her bottom. "You can talk!" she exclaimed. "Yes yes I can talk little girl. I can also hear you. Sorry to burst your little bubble but I'm not one of _those,"_ he drawled as he straightened his sleeve. But his cynicism didn't seem to hinder her enthusiasm in the least. "It's okay. Actually, it's quite exciting! I mean your accent. I've never heard anything like that before." she chirped on happily, her wide eyes fixed on Eames' every move.

"What do they call you?" she asked. _What a strange question…_ He thought. Eames debated whether or not he should give up his identity to the little girl. After all..she couldn't be a threat…could she?

"They call me Eames," he answered skeptically.

"Eames? Never heard that name before! Wow this is so exciting," she giggled and got up and began to dance, singing his name.

_This projection is definitely crazy…_ Eames rolled his eyes at the girl. "What do they call you?" this time, he asked her.

"Phee. They call me Phee, Eames," she sang as she spun gracefully.

_Strange name…_ He thought but quickly dismissed thought. "Alright little girl, why don't you run along now to your house and play with your dollies?" he muttered and started walking away from her. She ran after him and grabbed the back of his suit jacket. "Let go little girl," he warned and tried to twist the fabric out of the girl's surprisingly strong grip. "The name's Phee and you can't go that way, Eames. They're after you aren't they?" she said as she stubbornly pulled him back. Eames let go of his jacket and looked at her incredulously.

"What did you say?" "The men with guns. They're after you, no?" she repeated. "How…How did you know that?" he stuttered, his jacket already completely forgotten.

"I know a lot of things," Phee smiled innocently as she let go of his jacket and flattened the wrinkles on it. "For instance, I know where Phaedra is."

_Phaedra? _Eames raked his brains to remember to whom the distinctly familiar name belonged to until he remembered Ariadne mentioning it. _The crazy girl._

"If you follow me then I'll show you," the girl suggested, holding his hand. Her hands were surprisingly cold and Eames flinched at the touch.

"_Don't trust her Eames. Let go of her hand and run. Remember the last time when you ignored me? You were chased after by armed guards," _Arthur warned him but was overruled by Eames' curiosity.

"Fine Phee. Lead the way," he said.


	18. Warning

**AHHH I MADE IT! Hi readers. I'm now very close to dying of sleep deprivation. But I'm happy to be back. School is out to get me I swear. **

**Anyways. This chapter is short and crappy (in my opinion). If I get a chance, I'm definitely rewriting this chapter. But I still hope you enjoy it and PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW. It keeps me going. **

**Enjoy!**

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The little girl skipped along Eames to keep up with him. She hummed happily as she led him through the maze of alleyways. The little warning siren in the back of his mind grew more incessant and shriller as the walls seemed to close in on around them, the alley growing narrower. Eames had never felt this alien in his own dream. It was as if he wasn't in control over it. Unconsciously, he slipped his hand into his pocket and cradled the poker chip.

Phee didn't seem to mind the narrow walls and danced ahead, singing cheerfully. Somewhere not so far away, several gun shots were fired. Eames flinched and looked around alarmingly, only to find his grotesquely distorted and long shadow looming behind him. She tugged at his sleeve impatiently and rolled her eyes at Eames' reaction as if gunshots were things of ordinary nature.

"We're almost here," she said exasperatedly and pointed ahead of her, urging him to move on. 'I guess the only way to go is forward...' he thought and glanced back once more before he uneasily started walking again.

As they got closer to their unknown destination, Phee became more silent and withdrawn. The grin that used to dance on her face was wiped clean and was replaced by a blank coldness, almost like the other projections in the dream. But her gleaming emerald eyes had a sharp glint of anger that grew harder and harder with each step.

"Are you okay?" Eames asked her, curiously observing her face.

"I'm fine," she snapped irritatingly but quickly apologized. "Sorry. I get edgy when I go close to _her_. And I'm getting _very very _close right now," she explained.

"Why do you get edgy?" he asked suspiciously. After all, Phee was just a projection in Phaedra's dream.

"Well…We aren't exactly best friends. She'll never forgive me…" she said quietly.

Before Eames could ask another question, Phee cut him off.

"We're here," she said coldly and urged Eames towards the grey building that was suddenly looming over them.

The building seemed deserted, no lights shone from its windows and no sound came from its rooms. But something told Eames that he was very wrong.

_Building of my nightmares… Ironic how I'm the one who built it into the dream yet I'm scared to even go near it.._ he thought as he stayed frozen in his place.

"Well…aren't you coming?" she asked when she saw the hesitation in his eyes. She pushed the large metal front door open and slipped into the darkness within.

'This is when you run Eames…' his subconscious warned him.

But like always, Eames ignored the sensible comment. And like always, he was about to regret it.

* * *

It was as deserted as Eames had predicted it to be. Eerie silence choked him as he struggled to make no noise when he moved. The little red-headed girl was nowhere to be seen and Eames suddenly missed her presence. Yes, she had been annoying to the nth degree…but she was the only company that hadn't tried to kill him so far.

"What do I do now…" he sighed. He felt the sudden urge to give up and just rest until time ran out, but his instincts told him that it wasn't going to be as simple as that. His pride wouldn't allow himself to become a coward because of one scary building. He grunted in frustration and decided to inspect the building closer.

The interior of the building had no light except for the dim sunlight that shone through the dusty windows. He dug around in his pocket and found his lighter. Suddenly, Eames felt a strong urge to have a cigarette. "Cigarettes kill you…" he reminded himself and got back to focusing on the lighter.

With a flick of his fingers, the flame burst to life. Squinting, Eames saw rows and rows of dusty desks and scattered papers. On the desk closest to him, one faded yellow folder caught his eyes. Without even thinking about it, he picked it up and opened it.

_MILLITARY PERSONAL PROFILE REPORT_

_Subject: No. 132_

_Code name: Phaedra_

_Status: Second Lieutenant _

…

"She's from the military?" Eames stopped half way, his mouth hung open in shock. "No wonder she kicked my ass. Geez…" he shook his head and read on.

_Family: None_

_Specialty: Sub-conscious hacking. A.k.a. extraction_

_Weakness: Death of her fiancé. Multiple suicide attempts. _

…

Eames fell silent. The words death and suicide danced behind his closed lids and he tried to shake the empty voice that was calling his name out of his head.

"I see that you found her file," Phee came out of nowhere and caused him to jump in fright.

He nodded and shoved the paper back into the file, crumpling it violently.

"Anything interesting?" she asked nonchalantly but there was a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"…It says her fiancé-" he started carefully. "Yes, he died," Phee cut him off, "one of the few reasons why Phaedra won't forgive herself…or me."

"Why won't she forgive you?" he asked curiously.

"Because I am her," Phee whispered dangerously.

That's when the screaming started.


	19. Side story: Mistletoe

**LONG TIME NO UPLOAD! Hey you guys. I miss you all. I hope you guys didn't forget about me! I've been suffering from SAT prep...AGAIN! My winter break started recently and I've decided to end my little "break." Which is kind of ironic because my REAL vacation just started. Anywhozz I have been working on this chapter for a few days in hopes to finish it by Christmas. But...it took longer than expected and it's a day late. Sorry you guys! This is not part of the actual story that I've been writing (the next chapter will be uploaded soon, I promise). This is a side-story specially written for Christmas. Reviews are always welcome.  
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**Enjoy!**

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She had no idea.

She just simply did not know.

There were many things Ariadne did know like the characteristics of a classic gothic architecture and the time period during which the infamous Chateau de Versailles was built but all that didn't matter. At least not at the moment.

Christmas was tomorrow but she still didn't have a gift for him.

For everyone else, yes.

For Cobb, she made an album that she designed herself. She wished he would fill up the empty pages with newly created memories with his family in the near future. When they met later, he would perhaps brag about his daughter's athletic talents or his son's artistic abilities, grumbling about how he wished their personalities were switched but still talk about them with sparkles in his eyes. Then, maybe he would take out the album and show her all the wonderful places his family went together, all the beautiful things they had seen. Show her how happy they were now that everything was right again. She would smile then because his face would be much more softened than before. All the guilt and anger gone and just pure bliss and comfort gracing his face.

For Yusuf, she bought him a pair of shoes. His leather shoes were shiny not because they were new and well kept, but because they were so worn out. They seemed to be barely holding on together, straining against his overgrown feet. She had caught the chemist eyeing Eames' shiny black shoes enviously weeks ago and had gone ridiculous lengths to find out Yusuf's shoe size after that. She had to pretend to be extremely interested in anesthetics to put him under sleep under the pretense of a "harmless experiment" and then measure his feet…three times. Ariadne had then promptly run to the hand-made leather shop she had kept her eyes on for several weeks now and ordered a modest but comfortable and sturdy pair of shoes for Yusuf. After, when she was soaked in the satisfaction of getting her friend a perfect gift, she had to explain to the much-confused Yusuf why she had left him alone during an "experiment session."

For Saito, it had been trickier. A multi-billionaire didn't really _need _anything. In the end, she decided on a handkerchief when she remembered he had ruined his silk one when he was injured during the last mission. Sure, it had been in a dream and his extremely expensive handkerchief had remained spotless when they woke. But Ariadne wanted him to know that she thought of him as a friend even when the mission was over. 'For a friend, more than a tourist,' she had embroidered on to the handkerchief. Although they were only superficially teammates, Ariadne thought of Saito as more than that. He had been kind to her, especially after the mission. He was a good man.

For Eames, it was a whole different matter entirely. It was not a matter of needing but of preferences. If Eames didn't have something, it was because he could live without it. If Eames had something, it was because he liked it. In the end, Ariadne thought of something that he would like and would be able to live with. Eames was an unpredictable man: imaginative in thinking and fickle in nature. As changeable as he was, Eames was never on time. He was sometimes early but more often extremely late to the point of almost pushing Arthur over the edge. Watch was a gift that Eames did not necessarily need, but all the other teammates needed him to have. So that he would actually bother to wear it, Ariadne picked one out that would suit his flashy taste. Hopefully, he would glad when wearing it as much as his teammates would be if he did.

Now that all four gifts were done and over with, Ariadne could no longer postpone the paramount that lay before her. Arthur was unpredictable in a whole new nature than Eames. Arthur was…airtight. Impenetrable yet he was clear. He was symmetric yet not artificial. Perfect yet human. He was a bundle of paradox and Ariadne wished to make sense of him…yet was scared that once she did, he would disappear and move on to the next person who is willing to take up the challenge. She loved and at the same time hated how she turned into a paradox of her own with even the briefest thought of him. It was evident to her that she loved him much more than he loved her. She wished that to be just an arrogant assumption but had stubbornly stuck with it nevertheless.

Arthur did not _need _anything. He always knew what was needed before that object was even needed at all. Perhaps it was the nature of his job of being a point man that drove him to be so ready at all times for any kind of situations.

To make matters worse, Ariadne didn't even know Arthur's favorite color. They always talked about work and when they were alone together, their minds seemed to be fully occupied with the thoughts of being non-awkward that seemed to bring about just the opposite affect of what they wanted. They were most comfortable with each other when they talked about their plans of the future and remained silent as they watched movies together. As her mind floated through the past 'dates' they had been on and the presence of silence that seemed to occupy most of it, Ariadne began to panic.

She was completely hopeless. Arthur probably thought of her as a boring woman with a stick up her not-even-that-nice ass and probably regretted the very day he asked her out. AND she couldn't even pick out a gift for him. She was boring AND useless… Ariadne suddenly felt the urge to cry in the midst of her full-blown panic attack.

Breathing slowly in and out of her nose, Ariadne managed to keep the hot tears that were threatening to spill at bay. 'I will NOT lose my head. If I do, I'll become a boring and useless woman that is totally mental. If I lose my confidence and completely mindless sense of adventure, who am I then?' she thought to herself. She was Ariadne, the girl that yelled at Dom Cobb and kicked some sense into his sorry ass. She was the girl that designed a dream with three freaking levels! She was the girl wonder, a love-struck fool but an independent architect nevertheless. She was anything BUT useless and she was going to prove it to everyone.

* * *

The next day, everyone, except Eames and Arthur –the first was to be expected, the second, however, was extremely out of character, arrived promptly at the decorated warehouse at seven for the Christmas dinner. Aside from the team, Cobb's children and Ariadne's professor, Miles came with Dom, Saito came with his secretary and Yusuf arrived with his cat.

Ariadne's gifts had arrived just in time that morning through the mail and everybody there thanked her for them. Cobb's kids, Phillipa and James, handed Ariadne messy but endearing hand-made cards and gave her shy kisses on both sides of her cheeks. Dom himself gave her his notes and data on his past experiments and claimed, when Ariadne tried to refuse, that he no longer needed them. Yusuf seemed to be overwhelmed with happiness when he showed off his new shoes to everyone and told and retold the story of how she tricked him in order to get his measurements. Saito genuinely smiled widely when Ariadne gave him a hug for the brilliant Christmas log cakes he brought for her. "I didn't know if you liked strawberries or chocolate so I bought both…" he murmured, trying to hide his embarrassment but thanked her again for her gift.

Eames arrived fifteen minutes late and excused himself with the fact that his new watch was not set-up correctly yet. As soon as he saw her, Eames pulled Ariadne into a tight hug. "Thanks Ariadne," he chuckled when she gasped for breath and released her. "The place looks brilliant Ariadne" he complimented after he was done looking around the place.

"Where is Arthur, that bastard? He's always complaining that I'm late-"

"Right here, Eames. Sorry that the bastard is late," Arthur chuckled.

Eames' banter was cut off by the point man that had just entered.

"It's true though, you're almost never late Arthur," Cobb said, raising his eyebrow suspiciously.

"And why on earth are you not wearing any coat?" Eames added, "It's bloody cold outside you know."

It was true. Arthur was wearing just his crisp white shirt and suit vest and was holding his suit jacket by his side, without bothering to wear it. He seemed unbothered by this and swatted the air as if the bothersome questions had materialized in front of him as flies.

"Too many questions I can't be too bothered to answer. How about we eat now, eh? I'm positively starving," he said humorously.

"They're beautiful," Arthur said to Ariadne when he passed by her but she wasn't sure if he meant the decorations or the gift she had sent him.

* * *

The dinner was pleasant. Everyone had brought something to the table: both food to eat and things to talk about. For the first time in a long time, Ariadne felt like she was at home with her true family.

"Arthur, are you cold?" Ariadne asked when she saw he was the only one that was without any sweaters or jackets. She had gone great lengths to close off any openings that may bring in the viciously cold winds from outside. Ariadne had even borrowed heaters from her neighbors that were nice enough to comply. But her efforts couldn't keep out all the chills and everyone, except Arthur, had held on to all their clothes other than their coats. Arthur looked awfully bare with just one shirt on. 'Although he looks kinda sexy,' Ariadne commented in her head. She immediately chased the rather inappropriate thought out of her head and plastered a cheesy grin across her face in hopes that her thoughts weren't too transparent on her face.

"I'm perfectly fine," Arthur said politely and returned to his friendly conversation with Saito's secretary. Ariadne felt a pang of jealousy when the gorgeous woman reached over to touch his wrist. Pretending not to notice, Ariadne hid behind the curtain of her hair and continued to watch them through out the meal.

* * *

After coffee and dessert were served, plates cleared and all greetings exchanged, guests started leaving one by one. Saito left first, with much regret, he had business to attend to early next morning. His secretary shook hands with Arthur and trailed behind Saito, leaving Ariadne rather bitter. Professor Miles and Cobb left after that, each with sleeping child in their arms, after Ariadne refused their offers to stay back and clean up. Eames and Yusuf stayed back for a while, singing carols loudly in the recliners. They were quite drunk from drinking too much wine and Macavity, Yusuf's cat, meowed every time Yusuf screeched off key. After a rather dramatic rendition of Christmas pop songs, Eames and Yusuf were put, forced by annoyed Arthur more like, into a cab and sent home.

Satisfied by the empty plates and pile of Christmas cards, Ariadne hummed Christmas tunes the drunk duo were singing while wiped the table top.

"Here, I'll do it," Arthur reached over and grabbed the cloth from her hands. Their hands touched for a fraction of a second and Ariadne jumped back in surprise.

"You're still here," she gasped. "I thought you left with Eames and Yusuf."

"I couldn't leave to all this mess," he explained and casually folded the cloth in half. "Did I really scare you that much?"

"Your hands are freezing," she defended her reaction. "You're gonna catch a cold wearing just a shirt in this weather you know."

"But if I wear a coat or a sweater over my shirt, your gift won't be visible," Arthur declared as if it was the most obvious thing on earth. He pointed at the elaborate silver cufflinks that were in the shape of dice that he wore on his shirt cuffs. "I have to show them off don't I?" he shrugged playfully. "Miss de Silva complimented them during dinner," he added proudly.

"That's what you guys were talking about?" Ariadne could not believe what she was hearing. He had refused to put on his jacket because he wanted to show off _her _gift. She burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of herself. She had been jealous of Miss de Silva who was actually complimenting Ariadne's taste.

Arthur raised his eyebrow at the sudden change in Ariadne but started laughing with her. It was Christmas. They didn't need a reason to laugh.

"Here. Uh..I don't know if you'll like it or not…I'm not exactly used to picking out gifts," he coughed to hide his embarrassment as she unwrapped the box he handed to her.

"You didn't have to," she smiled when she saw a silver bracelet with a delicate pawn charm. "It's beautiful…Thank you."

He helped her to put it on and admired how it fit comfortably around her slender wrist.

"Merry Christmas," he whispered against her hair.

"Merry Christmas," she whispered back.

She tiptoed and kissed him lightly on the lips.

Everything was right.

Outside the window, white snow fell silently, covering the streets and turning the city into a blank canvas. Above their heads, mistletoe decorations hung, looking down on the embracing figure.

It was Christmas.

* * *

**I'm planning on writing an Arthur version for the New Years. What do you guys think?**

**Please comment!  
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	20. Side story: The Getaway Part 1

**Hey you guys! It's me again. This time, it's Arthur's version of New Years side story. This one is probably gonna be a two-shot. Some of you guys had noticed that I write about the team members pretty often. Like their presents and what they like and stuff like that. Hope you guys like that style. I like going in depth of what these characters might actually feel and act like and stuff like that. Please let me know how you feel about that!**

**And also I need all of your help. I need you guys to email me at .kr OR leave a review listing pick-up lines (or just any cheesy things that he might say)that Eames might use to get laid. PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME OUT! It's for the story. 33**

**ENJOY!**

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It had all started when Arthur casually suggested going away for the New Years Eve. It had been very spontaneous, a spur of the moment kind of thing. Not exactly the imaginative type, Arthur thought that the suggestion would pleasantly surprise Ariadne and show her that he too could be fun and free like her.

His plan had worked…all too well. Ariadne's face lit up with happiness and he couldn't refuse her puppy dog eyes. He couldn't say no when he was the one that suggested it; he was a man of his words. When he looked into her deep brown eyes that seemed to beg for affection, Arthur completely lost all control and told her that he would plan everything and that all she would have to do is pack and show up on time.

"I must have gone nuts, promising her such ridiculous things," he muttered into his hands as he paced back and forth in his spotless room.

"Why is it that you turn into such an impulsive fool when you are with Ariadne?" chuckled Eames, watching Arthur curiously. "Or maybe perhaps that is your true self?"

"Oh shut up Eames, you're not helping at all," Arthur growled irritably and flopped on to the leather chair.

Arthur had called Eames half an hour ago when he just simply could not think of anything. It had been sort of embarrassing to ask Eames for help but out of the male members of the team, Eames was the one with the most experiences in this area.

Yusuf was completely oblivious to the creature that was women. The closest female other than his mother that he shared a long lasting somewhat-romantic relationship with was his cat, Macavity. Ariadne came next on the list but their relationship was not male to female but of human to human or more precisely, teammate to teammate. They had come to be good friends and Yusuf saw Ariadne as another human being and perhaps that was why they were so comfortable with one another.

Saito, on the other hand, was always flocked with beautiful women. Being a multibillionaire almost assured gorgeous women at your side everyday. His secretary, his assistants, his evening party partners, they all looked like the type to appear in magazines wearing skimpy, if any, clothes. But Saito seemed so completely unaware of these women's charms, almost shockingly so, which brought Eames to suspect that perhaps Saito was gay. Arthur disproved this theory by telling him about Saito's lover that he had in Spain. It was not that Saito didn't like women, but he was just somewhat immune to them. Although experienced with women, Saito was not the romantic type at all and therefore no help whatsoever to Arthur.

Cobb was the most like Arthur in a sense that Cobb had been utterly and completely infatuated with his wife, Mal, and that she had been the first and probably the last love of his life. However, badly would be a devastating understatement for how the relationship ended as the word could not stretch far enough to cover Mal killing herself and Cobb being accused of killing her then chased out of the country, away from his children. And canceling him out completely from the list of possible helping hands was the fact that Cobb completely disapproved of Arthur and Ariadne's relationship. He called it 'unhealthy.' Arthur couldn't blame Cobb; he was sure that his relationship reminded Cobb of his own with Mal, which, as mentioned above, did not end prettily.

Then came the very last resort. It was true that Eames was undeniably a charmer. He flirted with women wherever and whenever he went, and by wherever and whenever, Arthur _meant_ wherever and whenever. Eames did not have a discriminating taste. If a good-looking man with a skirt around his waist walked into a bar, Eames would probably go for him. When Ariadne had first joined the team, Eames had flirted endlessly with her. But to Eames' disappointment and to Arthur's relief, she seemed completely impervious to the forger's shameless seducing. She just laughed off most of the cheesy pick-up lines and patted him on the head like he was some kind of a misbehaving dog. This seemed to drive on Eames' determination rather than exterminating it. The flirting became more and more unbearable until Cobb actually _banned_ Eames from behaving in such 'frivolousness' if the forger were to be paid for the mission. Eames gave up reluctantly but seemed quite happy to justify his failures with Cobb's threat. He had been quite certain that Ariadne would not fall for him despite how much he persisted which was probably why Eames was so disturbed that Arthur, the 'stick-in-the-mud' as Eames liked to call him, won over who seemed to be unconquerable. It was a total mystery to Eames and when Arthur asked for help, his pride almost pushed him to decline. But in the end, Eames had said yes mainly because he was curious to find out what she saw in Arthur. He had suspected the clean-cut impression that Arthur exuded was what was appealing to Ariadne (but in second thoughts, Eames was sure he was as sharp as Arthur could be). But looking at Arthur pacing like a nervous dog, Eames shook his head several times.

"It's a total mystery," he muttered.

"Yea yea I heard that a million times already," Arthur said exasperatedly. Eames just could _not_ get over the fact that Arthur got something Eames couldn't get. Eames resembled a six-year old boy in that way.

"I mean seriously! I am quite literally _the _most attractive sexbomb that there is, and _you_….you are…" Eames scrambled for words.

"A stick-in-the-mud. Yes yes you have established that already, Casanova. Why don't you now _enlighten_ me with your oozing sexuality," mocked Arthur, bowing sarcastically to Eames.

"What are your plans so far?" asked Eames curiously, finally given up on trying to figure out the nagging mystery.

"Well…I am planning to take her to St. Paul de Vence. She told me that she never had a chance to go there even though she loves contemporary art…" Arthur dragged on the last word as he glanced Eames' way. He waited for a sign of disproval but when he didn't get any, continued timidly. "…So I rented out a small apartment there-"

"WHAT? You rented WHAT?" Eames interjected. He looked at Arthur as if he had just announced that he was a five-year old girl.

"An apartment Eames..You _live_ in one you know," Arthur explained slowly. He was clearly clueless to what caused such a strong reaction.

"EXACTLY Arthur. You _idiot_," the forger explained exasperatedly as if it was the most obvious thing on the planet. "YOU live in one. SHE lives in one. So why the _hell_ would you want to go there and stay in one? It's completely ridiculous. Not to mention _cheap_."

Arthur sat blankly.

Eames sighed and shook his head.

"Okay Arthur. This is how it works for most guys. Girls like pretty and expensive stuff. So we buy them the pretty and expensive stuff. And then they sleep with us. Got it?" Eames explained, occasionally using his fingers to make finger puppets and demonstrate his point. "In my case though, I don't need all that to get girls to sleep with me. But you are not me are you?"

"But Ariadne is not like most girls," Arthur said, completely confused now.

"True true..She didn't fall for me," Eames muttered regretfully, "but she is still a girl. Which means, she would much rather sleep in pretty and expensive places than plain apartments. Jesus Arthur…only you would think of such an unimaginative thing like booking an apartment..I bet you booked an apartment with two rooms, you prude bastard… But don't worry mate, I'll get you laid for sure." He waved away Arthur's objections, completely ignoring him. "I'll book a five star hotel suite for you love birds. And I'll let you take my car." He paused for a second and started furiously scribbling onto a piece of paper. "Here are all my pick-up lines. I'll let you use them."

"I'm a genius!" Eames exclaimed and patted Arthur on the back. "Don't thank me yet." He tossed his car key and the piece of paper to Arthur and left him completely in loss of words.

"Brilliant…" Arthur finally said after he completely digested in his head what had just happened.

"Just brilliant…"

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**I know i kind of made Eames arrogant in this chapter...but we all knew that he was a cocky bastard and that's why we love him.**

**I said this up there as well but I'll remind you guys again. PLEASE TELL ME SOME OF THE PICK UP LINES THAT EAMES MIGHT ACTUALLY USE! It will help me a lot. **

**REVIEW PLEASE! I LIVE OFF OF REVIEWS...literally  
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	21. Side story: The Getaway Part 2

**HI YOU GUYS! I finally got around to finishing this chapter. It took way longer than I thought it would mainly because school started...yea...crap... And I am honestly not that happy with this chapter. I was hoping for it to be one of those light-hearted warm cheesy love story but it came out to be mediocre at best..sorry about that! I finished this at three in the morning and..I honestly didn't proof read it as much as I would normally. I might do a re-write on it some time. **

**Also, thank you so much to all the readers that suggested cheesy pick-up lines for me! You guys are great! I didn't use all of them because of my limited imagination but I really enjoyed reading them. **

**ENJOY!**

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Arthur was rarely nervous…not _this_ much anyway. Sure, he got a bit anxious on his first extraction lesson he had when he was fresh out of college, but he had known that everything was under control…and as always, he had been right. He wasn't too comfortable with dentists (the idea of a near-stranger poking about his mouth with tools that could probably drill right through his head was not exactly a settling one), but his teeth had been, were, and probably always will be perfectly straight and white so he never had to actually worry about going to the dentist's. Even when he was a hormone-induced adolescent, he had not been particularly nervous around girls (and he had been around plenty.)

Now far from being a teen, Arthur felt an unfamiliar sensation of panic creeping upon him. He felt a queasy feeling of fluttering in his stomach that made him want to heave. He loosened his perfectly straightened tie once again but the uneasy choking feeling was still there.

'Just think of it as a business trip…except this time with Ariadne. It's not that big of a deal..' he reminded himself. He cleared his throat loudly and noticed that he was tugging on his tie again. He swatted his hands away, clearly irritated by the growing habit.

Arthur was straightening his tie again when the door he had been pacing in front of for the last good fifteen minutes swung open and knocked him to the ground.

"Arthur! I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were there," Ariadne jumped when saw him. She offered her hand to help him up.

He was about to reach out and take her hand when he remembered the first tip on the list of many others Eames had _so kindly_ left for him.

_Don't let her help you with ANYTHING. You're on top. You're dominant. Don't walk behind her and let her lead you (WHICH I KNOW IS EXACTLY THE TYPE OF THING YOU WOULD DO). Show her who's alpha. _

Arthur was unsure of the instruction for a second. It didn't sound like a good plan but he decided to trust Eames for once. Eames _had _been so awfully confident with calling himself a ladies' man.

He gulped and ignored her extended hand. He dusted his pants and nonchalantly got up off the floor like it was no big deal. If he was embarrassed about falling in front of her, he hid it well behind his composed façade. "Hello Ariadne," he greeted her coolly as if nothing had happened.

"Uh.. Hi Arthur," she retrieved her hand awkwardly, obviously confused with his actions. "Did you come here to pick me up?"

"Yea I did actually," he fidgeted, regretting what he did.

"Well…you're a bit earlier than I expected. I was just about to take a shower so you can wait in my apartment if you want," she said while she picked up the newspaper that was on her doorstep.

* * *

She led him into a small but cozy apartment. This wasn't the first time he had been in there but he did not feel any less nervous as he did the first time.

"You can sit here. Help your self with the waffle and orange juice," she pointed to the plate of waffles on her table. "I made extra just in case."

Arthur debated whether eating the breakfast counted as her helping him but his empty and nervous stomach obviously did not care for whatever Eames had to say. He thanked her and when she saw that he grabbed a plate of waffle, she smiled and went into the bathroom.

When he made sure she was in the shower, Arthur pulled out the instruction sheet. He read it over again, scoffing at how ridiculous some of the tips actually were. Although he thought some of the instructions were ridiculous, he had actually memorized all of the pick-up lines and tips before. Not that Ariadne was going to know any of this. Arthur would much rather die than let Ariadne know that he had been practicing the pick-up lines in front of the mirror.

"Relax Arthur…Breathe," he tried to calm himself down.

"Relax for what?" Ariadne said suddenly behind him, causing him to jump frantically and knock his elbow against the table and fall on to the floor again.

"_Crap_," he cussed, shaking the hot electric feeling that shot up from his elbow.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you! Are you okay?" she gently grabbed the arm that he fell on to examine it. "Must've hurt," she grimaced when she saw blueish bruise starting to show on his elbow. She ran her finger softly over it, causing Arthur to blush madly.

"What's that paper?" she asked suddenly, noticing the paper crumpled in Arthur's hand. He quickly shoved the paper in his pocket and grinned all too-brightly. "N-nothing.." he shuttered. _SHIT_ he swore in his head. Ariadne narrowed her eyes, trying to read Arthur's expressions.

_Crap…think of an excuse Arthur. Quick! Distract her! _Arthur's conscience screamed at him.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked, returning to tending his wounds. But her eyes were still fixed on the pocket where the paper was.

Afraid she'll return to the topic of the cheat sheet, Arthur searched his brain for a way to distract her completely. "Uh…" he dragged on.

_SAY SOMETHING! ANYTHING! _

"Ummm…"

_SAY! SOMETHING! NOW!_

"This pain is nothing compared to the pain you must have felt when you fell from heaven because you are obviously an angel fallen from the sky," he blurted out one of the pick-up lines Eames had given him. Arthur could just _hear _Eames laughing maniacally in his head as he said it.

There was silence.

It looked like Ariadne wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. She just froze in place and was trying to comprehend what had just happened. Arthur froze as well, trying desperately to anticipate her reaction.

"Haha..aha..good one Arthur…um..I'm gonna go get my stuff" she choked out at last and shuffled out of the kitchen.

Arthur rubbed his sore elbow and groaned.

"…well..that went well," Arthur sighed sarcastically, straightening the crumpled paper and shoving it back into his pocket.

* * *

When Ariadne saw the red sports car parked in the parking spot, her jaw dropped in disbelief. "You can't be serious, Arthur," she snorted but coughed back her laugh when she saw that, in fact, he was being completely serious. Ariadne raised her eyebrow skeptically but got into the car anyways.

Ignoring the blatant ooze of ego and the obnoxiously loud sound of the roaring engine of the car, Arthur tried to keep the conversation pleasant. And it was…until he tried to incorporate one of Eames' pick-up lines or listen to his advices.

The conversations seemed to be on a constant cycle.

Arthur: "The day seems to be getting hotter and hotter."

Ariadne: "I know, the sun's so bright today."

Arthur: "The sun's brightness is nothing compared to your beauty."

Silence and awkward laughs.

Arthur: "How's school?"

Ariadne: "It's exhausting. It's crazy how much work they give you. It's as if they want you to suffer."

Arthur: "Well aside from the school work, you must be tired running through my mind all day long."

More silence and awkward laughs.

Normal conversation. Pick-up line. Silence. Repeat.

The silence seemed to grow longer and longer every time Arthur attempted to flirt with her.

"You sound like Eames today…" Ariadne finally said after Arthur's fifth attempt and failure.

This time, Arthur was the one laughing awkwardly and abruptly changing the topic.

Eventually, they started talking about dream-sharing which seemed to be one of Ariadne's favorite topics to talk about.

"How did you become involved in extraction in the first place anyways?" she asked curiously.

"I was planning to become a detective actually, so I joined a police academy after I graduated from high school. They had a dream-sharing military program for some selected trainees and I was chosen," he shrugged. "And… after that, I changed my mind and decided to work in the sub-conscience field. Since I had profiling and researching background from the academy, I was hired as a point man. I met Dom and we were partners since then."

"What attracted you to this field? It is obviously not the 'pure creation' I couldn't stay away from."

"I like the lack of falseness in people's sub-conscience. It's true people can distort memories and dreams but in dreams, most of what you can experience is pure instincts and impulses. It's the truth," he said slowly. He remembered the first time he was the 'subject' of a dream, the utter exposition and vulnerability but also the clarity had been amazing. Arthur felt the gaze of his face and realized the conversation had stopped a while ago. His stomach dropped with the realization that he was spacing out all by himself and probably bored her half to death.

He quickly plastered a cheesy grin across his face. "Although in less euphemistic terms, I'm a sub-conscious thief. I think you are the _real _thief though…going around stealing my heart," he drawled the memorized line.

'_I'm not awkward with saying these lines anymore! That's pretty impressive,' _he thought to himself.

…Except she didn't look impressed at all.

"What are you talking about? Don't say that you are a thief so lightly. You know Cobb didn't have a choice, and by saying those things, you are insulting him. It's true you guys haven't exactly been doing legal jobs but don't make a joke about it," she snapped.

Arthur almost grunted in frustration. Things were obviously not working out to well. He was trying to impress her and had pissed her off instead. He was about to apologize to her when he remembered what he had read off of that _bloody _paper, which he had fondly chose to call now.

_Pretend like you don't care about her that much. If you are too nice to girls, they will think you are the boring goody-two shoes type (WHICH YOU ARE ARTHUR), which is totally unsexy. Being nice and caring will NOT get you laid._ _Be a TEASE._

After the failure of all the attempts so far at being a "sex-bomb" like Eames, the last thing Arthur wanted to do was to try again. But the persistent voice of the forger clouded his mind, urging him to stop being a stick in the mud. Arthur realized this had grown into some kind of a competition of male ego. If he gave up now, Arthur would be forever stamped as a coward and a "goody-two shoes" as Eames had called him. Arthur wasn't going to let Eames beat him. With his extraordinary self-control, Arthur fixed his eyes again on the road and let the cold silence hang in the air.

* * *

By noon, they arrived at the outskirts of the small town. Arthur had planned to drive slowly, enjoying the pleasant scenery of the French countryside but the awkward silence that permeated the air made him uncomfortable and panicky. He drove much faster than planned with his gaze fixed at the road ahead.

Ariadne seemed to be refusing to look at him. She fidgeted with the seat belt and fiddled with her totem. At last, when Arthur seemed to have totally retreated into silence with no plan on resurfacing any time soon, she took out a book and glared at its pages.

When the vineyards and orchard transformed into occasional shops, Ariadne finally snapped the book shut, clearly irritated by the absence of communication.

"Stop at this shop," she said tiredly. "I need some air."

Arthur was relieved to hear her finally talk but stuck firmly to Eames' tip and merely shrugged. He pulled over at a gas station next to an automobile renting shop. As soon as he parked the car, Ariadne jumped out and stomped to the small drugstore in the gas station. Arthur sighed and pulled out the paper. He knew it word for word now but it's crinkled edges made him feel better.

"What do I do now Eames. You haven't prepared me for _any _of this," he groaned, glaring at the paper.

"What about Eames?" Ariadne stood behind him, squinting at the paper. Arthur jumped and tried to stuff it back into his pocket but she was faster. The paper was snatched out of his hand faster than he could react and she was reading it when he realized it was gone.

"Did it hurt when you fell from the sky…because with your beauty, you are clearly an angel fallen from heaven..?" she read aloud. "What is this Arthur?"

Arthur felt his head buzz in panic as he tried to come up with excuses. He saw her eyes narrow and the sudden realization dawn on her. She gasped. "Eames wrote this for you!" she waved the worn paper. "Eames lent you his car!" she pointed at the red sports car. "What else did he do?" she was almost shouting now, "did he recommend you to take me on a trip?"

Arthur could not find his words.

"You are _unbelievable_," she said incredulously. She shoved the paper to his chest and looked at him pointedly.

"Ariadne, wait," he stopped her when she started to stomp away. "I asked Eames for help because I didn't know what to do. I mean…he's the self-appointed ladies man and I'm the _stick-in-the-mud_"–she looked at him questioningly but let him continue –"so I asked him to help me…although…it didn't exactly go as planned."

"So you drove me in this ridiculous car and acted like a male-chauvinistic jerk just to impress me?" she choked. "How did you, even for one second, think that that was going to work?"

Arthur shrugged.

"I didn't even _blink_ when Eames said all those shameless pick-up lines to me. You don't have to pretend to be someone else to impress me. I chose you for Arthur and not some "ladies man,"" she quoted him. Her expressions softened.

"So I don't have to pretend to be Eames," he asked carefully.

"Nope."

"Oh thank god," he breathed. "I thought I was going to choke under all the silence and awkwardness." He slowly ripped the paper into thin shreds. "Forgive me?" he asked softly.

She eyed what remained of the paper. And then the car.

"Yes…but if and only if you stop following all the ridiculous rules and..the car has to go," Ariadne decided.

"But..how will we get there without a car?" Arthur said skeptically.

Ariadne grinned wickedly and pulled him towards the scooters that were lined up neatly in the rental store.

"I know the perfect way."

* * *

In exchange for leaving Eames' car as a "hostage," the garage owner was more than happy to let them rent two scooters and helmets. Soon, they were racing down the bumpy road on scooters.

"Eames is going to kill me!" Arthur shouted across the wind. There was no worry in Arthur's voice. Just liberation as he enjoyed the breeze greeting his face.

"He's lucky if I don't kill him for almost ruining our trip!" Ariadne yelled back, gulping in the cool, clear air. The stuffy distance that had developed on the car had dissolved completely and they could help but enjoy the wonderful weather as they raced to the city.

The rest of the day was just as pleasant. They visited several galleries and got into heated debates over their favorite contemporary artists. They enjoyed lunch at a small deli in the backstreet. Under the shade, they poured over maps and shared ice creams. They went to an art auction and bought a brilliant painting. They met strangers and parted with them as friends. At different restaurants, they tried the local delicacies. They went to a friendly bar and drank local wine. With some alcohol pumping in their blood, Arthur and Ariadne danced and sang with others.

After several dances, they both collapsed onto the chairs, shaking with laughter. Even without the innuendos and tricks, Ariadne was already so captivated by Arthur. They were so comfortable with each other in their own skin, laughing and talking to one another. Arthur pressed his forehead to hers and smiled.

"Let's go," he murmured.

* * *

The hotel gleamed from the outside with the glittering decorum outside. Everything about it screamed rich and Arthur felt the unwelcome sense of unease creep on him. He forced it down and led Ariadne inside.

"Reservation under Mr. Smith please," he told his usual alias to the receptionist.

"There is no reservation under that name sir," the receptionist answered politely.

Arthur frowned in confusion. Eames should have reserved it under that name. He knew that Arthur always did so.

"What about under Eames?" he asked again.

The receptionist typed a few words and shook her head no.

"Arthur?" Ariadne called carefully. "What's wrong?"

"Uh..It seems like Eames forgot to book the hotel," he said cautiously.

"Eames again?" she grunted.

He shrugged innocently. Then he remembered something.

* * *

As it turns out, Eames had completely forgotten about booking them a hotel. However, fortunately, he had also forgotten to cancel Arthur's apartment rental. Arthur led her to the small apartment that seemed humble compared to the fancy hotel.

The apartment was old and some parts were crumbling. But the crawling ivy that covered the wall seemed to complement the building. It was warm and inviting inside: the soft ivory bed covers matched the dark forest green walls and the mahogany furniture.

Arthur and Ariadne sat out in the patio, looking out at the splendid view of the small but beautiful town. Ariadne brought out the wine she had bought earlier that day and poured two mugs.

"I know this isn't much compared to the hotel," Arthur said after sipping the wine.

"I like this place much better than that snobby five-star hotel," Ariadne announced contently as she leaned against Arthur's shoulder.

"And why is that?"

"Because that place has only _five _stars. But this place has five _gazillion_ stars," she said smugly, pointing at the myriad stars that adorned the sky.

Instead of looking at the stars, Arthur traced Ariadne's features with his eyes. Her deep brown eyes contained all the lights in the sky, reflecting their beauty on her chocolate iris. Her face was slightly flushed in excitement. He had a sudden urge to lean in and kiss her.

Arthur laughed quietly and copied Ariadne's smug expressions. "I didn't notice them because the brightest star was sitting right next to me and I was too busy looking at her," he said in his exaggerated dramatic voice. Ariadne raised her eyebrow and pretended to gag. Arthur pretended to be hurt.

"See? You're perfectly capable of coming up with cheesy pick-up lines without Eames' help," she laughed. "Eames will be so proud of you. He must be a good teacher."

"I just happen to be a good student," he shrugged. "With the perfect partner."

He leaned in and his face inched towards hers slowly. Preparing herself for the kiss, Ariadne closed her eyes in anticipation. Seconds, minutes perhaps, ticked by and she opened her eyes when nothing happened. Arthur's face was millimeters away from hers and he smiled smugly, watching Ariadne's eager expressions.

"You are _such _a tease," Ariadne glared at Arthur playfully.

"Apparently it works for some girls," he said innocently, leaning away.

"_Apparently _so." And with that, Ariadne pulled Arthur by his collars towards her and kissed him, catching Arthur by surprise. Arthur fell on top of Ariadne but she didn't let go and closed her eyes. Their kiss started out softly and carefully as if they were trying to size up each other, ready to pounce at the first sign of breach in defense, but soon turned into a hot, fervent fight for domination. Arthur jumped when she bit him and let go of his collars, pushing him away gently.

Ariadne laughed at his reaction and leaned in again. "But unlike _some _girls, I am willing to make the first move," she whispered and scooted away from speechless Arthur.

"_Tease_," he chuckled as he ran his finger over his bottom lip where she bit him.

"Toast to cheesy pick-up lines," she raised her mug in the night sky.

"Toast to teasers," Arthur copied her and touched her mug with his own.

The countdown started as they emptied their mugs.

"_10. 9. 8…"_

"New Years on the apartment rooftop, drinking wine out of mugs…" he chuckled, imagining how weird they would look to other people, especially Eames.

"…_7. 6. 5…"_

"I think it's pretty much perfect," Ariadne murmured as she slowly traced Arthur's long fingers.

"You know what will make it completely and undeniably perfect?" Arthur whispered, leaning in.

"…_4. 3. 2…1!"_

This time, there was no interruption other than the loud roar of cheer downstairs. They pulled each other into a soft embrace and reveled in each other's warmth. Their lips danced with each other, lost in the gentle but burning need for contact. They reluctantly pulled apart when fireworks bloomed magnificently above their heads announcing the start of the New Year.

"Perfect," they both said at the same time, their fingers still tangled in a tight embrace.

And it was.

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	22. Fear

**Hello readers! It's three in the morning where I live and I can not sleep. I don't know why. So I decided to finish this chapter! This chapter was a mega killer for me and took forever to write so hopefully it doesn't suck too much. As always please review! **

**Enjoy!**

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The piercing scream split the thick cold silence that was contaminating the air.

The sound was almost animal-like, wild and irrational. But at the same time, it was too emotional; full of insane anguish and anger. It eventually muffled into whimpers and broken almost inaudible sobs.

"What was that?" Eames asked uncertainly, gingerly walking towards to where the sound came from.

"You're damsel in distress," Phee mocked, unperturbed by the cry, and just pointed towards the room in the far corner.

"I've never really been the prince charming type," he smirked nervously.

Eames knew very well that he was going to see something that may ultimately scar him for life. So far, Phaedra's sub-conscious projections had proven to be either emotionless zombies that wanted him dead or an overly friendly but freakishly messed up child (he still could not decide which was worse.) Judging from the scream, he was sure he was not going to like what he was going to meet in the room.

"Dream big Eames..." Eames muttered to himself. "What's the worst that can happen?"

He put on his best-composed face (Arthur-mask as he called it) and marched to the room.

* * *

The brass doorknob was like ice against his skin. Eames cringed as he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand from the touch. He did not understand why such a simple task as opening a door and walking in was scaring the living shit out of him. But his every instinct were telling him to run and Eames found it very appropriate to listen to his instincts and be scared shitless.

He breathed in and out slowly and closed his eyes tightly. Carefully, he turned the doorknob and it gave into his grip without any resistance. The door opened silently and Eames slipped inside.

At first, he thought the room was empty. It was completely silent now, only thick uneasiness hinting at the scream that had once filled the room.

'Nothing….?' Eames scanned the room, cringing at the darkness.

The room was quite small, only big enough to fit a large desk and a bookshelf. The bookshelf was empty and a thick blanket of dust had settled on it. Stationary and letters and envelopes were sprawled about on the glass table. Only the black curtain moved, dancing with the cold wind that entered from the broken window. When he didn't see anything else moving, he eagerly turned around to walk out of the room.

Eames froze in his tracks when he heard a rustle from behind the desk.

He slowly turned back around. His heartbeat quickened when he heard it again, louder this time.

Suppressing the urge to turn around and run, Eames slowly walked around the desk. The redhead, an adult form this time, sat on the floor, hugging her knees. In her hand was a letter that was completely crumpled from her harsh grip.

Without thinking, Eames reached out and gently tugged the letter out of her hands. Phaedra stiffened at the touch but let her fingers go slack against the paper.

As he began to read a letter, the letter that he was all-too familiar with, he could not help but feel sick. After all, an in-service death notification was not uncommon to both him and his family. The letter read that Phillip Reed, presumably her fiancé, had been killed during battle due to bombing at his post.

No body had been found.

Eames released the paper and watched it flutter to the floor.

"It was my fault…"

When he slowly looked up, she was standing dangerously close to him, her half-crazed eyes piercing his grey ones.

"My fault," she said it again, emphasizing each word.

"General..no…Father was right…I shouldn't have met him..If I hadn't met him…" she stuttered and stumbled one step closer to him. Eames instinctively took a step back but regretted it when he saw hurt flash in her eyes.

"Uh..um…I don't know what to tell you honestly…" he began awkwardly.

"What are you doing here?" she cut him off sharply. Scrutinizing his face, Phaedra took another step towards Eames. "I know you…" she whispered dangerously. The letter crunched loudly when she took another step.

"Hello Phaedra."

Both heads snapped up to find Phee in the doorway. Her blank face betrayed no emotions as she closed the door behind her silently.

"Long time no see," she said casually, swirling her fingers around on the desk, making circular patterns on the thick dust.

"You," Phaedra breathed. Her eyes had gone dangerously narrow and Eames was completely forgotten as she stepped around the desk to face her younger self.

"What are you doing here?" she growled. "Get out."

"Oh please, don't be such a drama queen Phaedra," Phee rolled her eyes when Phaedra shoved the desk away from Phee's hands, scattering the envelopes onto the floor.

"You don't belong here," Phaedra pushed the desk again, more violently this time.

Phee finally looked up from her fingernails. Two identical sets of eyes glared at each other.

Eames realized he was holding his breath. He had no idea what was going on but he knew better than to intervene.

"I see that you haven't gotten over the fact that you killed Reed," Phee said, almost sympathetically.

"Shut up," Phaedra snarled.

"Do you still think it was your fault?"

"SHUT UP!"

With a piercing scream, Phaedra snatched the envelope opener from the desk and lunged herself at Phee. Eames grabbed her arm and pulled her back and crashed on the floor. He felt the air leave his lungs as Phaedra crushed his chest with her elbow. He groaned painfully and tried to restrain her arm but she thrashed about violently, cutting his arms several times.

"Stop Phaedra!" he yelled desperately as he tried to grab the letter opener. Suddenly, the room started spinning and he felt his arms go weak. Phaedra's screaming form blurred out of his sight and the pain in his arms began to fade. Soon, he found himself falling in blackness. He waved his arms about, trying to grasp something, anything.

* * *

Then, everything was bright again.

Eames squinted through the bright office light and tried to make sense of all the screaming around him.

"Are you alright?" someone asked him.

'Why wouldn't I be?" he wondered.

"GET HER!"

'Who is yelling?' Eames thought. He blinked but the haziness did not go away.

The room slowly started focusing into view and he realized Ariadne was watching him worriedly.

"Eames, are you alright?" she said again, touching his arm lightly.

"Yea," he finally answered. A sharp pain on his cheek cause him to wince. When he tentatively brushed his fingers against the pain, his fingers became wet with sticky blood.

"What happened?" he asked, staring at his fingers incredulously.

"I don't know. We came to check on you and you were on the floor with Phaedra. You guys were hooked up to the machine and you were groaning. Cobb timed you out. She woke up first and attacked you with the needle…" Ariadne said carefully. Her face was pale as she carefully wiped the blood off his face with her handkerchief.

Arthur and Cobb finally restrained Phaedra and handcuffed her to the desk. She resisted violently and spat angry words at them.

"LET ME GO NOW!"

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Cobb yelled as loudly as the red-head.

"He obviously wasn't," Arthur said coldly as he helped Eames up.

"Nope…I clearly wasn't" Eames muttered as he looked around the torn up office.

* * *

**I live on reviews...literally.**


	23. Contract

**LONG TIME NO POST! I missed all of you guys! I am sorry for taking such a long break. I was busy with applications and resumes and everything. I hope you guys are still with me! It is spring break for me right now so I will post more often. I promise. I know this chapter is a bit short but next will be review. I would love to know what you guys think about this chapter. **

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"EAMES!" Cobb screamed for the third time. It had been an hour and thirty minutes since he, Ariadne and Arthur had rescued the insufferable forger from the redhead stabbing him to death. But no matter how much coaxing, convincing or threats Cobb used on Eames, Eames refused to tell them what had happened in the dream.

"What happened in there and if you shrug one more time I swear to god, I will hurt you," Cobb lowered his voice to a threatening whisper.

"Yet another threat…why don't you come up with something more creative Cobb," Eames said emptily and glanced around the messy office. It was a wreck. His eyes inspected the redhead that was crouching in the corner. His grey eyes met with her wet green ones. He quickly turned away, feeling guilty for some strange reason, but the image of her stained face was burned into his memory. She had cried. 'Why…' he wondered.

"EAMES!" Dom Cobb's voice tore angrily through Eames' thought and pulled him quickly back to reality.

"WHAT?" Eames growled back. "I TOLD YOU. I WENT IN, GOT ATTACKED, GOT OUT!"

Cobb snapped but instead of screaming at Eames, he narrowed his eyes and snapped his mouth shut in a hard line. The room held its breath as tension threatened to burst.

"Fine," Cobb finally whispered. He glared at Eames but the forger just shrugged and ignored him. Cobb turned on his heels to leave the room.

"Arthur, I need to talk to you," he added as he closed the door behind him.

"Great…" Arthur grunted, knowing Cobb's temper was at its limit. Ariadne gave his hand a gentle squeeze before he followed Cobb unwillingly out the door.

As soon as Arthur left, Eames jumped out of his chair and loomed over Phaedra.

"Who is she?" he asked, searching her tear-streaked face.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Her voice was defiant, almost angry but her face didn't shift, retaining its hard composure.

"Phee. She's your shade isn't she?" he ignored her answer and crouched down in front of her, his face dangerously close to hers.

She refused to look away.

"I don't know what you are talking about," she repeated.

"I know what shades are. I've seen one before. But yours…is unique. Your shade is yourself. How did that happen?"

"I don't know what you are talking about," she said again, this time, emphasizing each word.

"You are more messed up than I thought you were," he muttered under his breath, studying her cold expressions. "You can't act like you don't care Phaedra. Your eyes tell the truth. You don't cry for nothing."

In a flash, she darted forward, kicking and thrashing at Eames. She strained against her handcuffs, her deadly eyes set on him. "Don't act like you know anything," she growled. "I've seen hell and trust me when I say I can show it to you too."

Eames chuckled at the threat. "Trust me, I've seen it too."

Phaedra laughed, letting her hands go slack against her restraints. "Sure you have."

"And trust me when I say I know more than you think. For instance, I know you haven't seen your shade in a while. It was clearly a surprise for you, which would explain the violent reaction. I also know that you want to get rid of her." Phaedra stopped laughing.

"No shit Sherlock. You are just stating the obvious-"

"-and I know how," he finished quietly. His statement hung around silently in the room.

"_Lies,"_ she hissed.

"Truths. One of rare moments that I will tell them but true nonetheless," he said smugly as he let it sink in.

"And you will help me get rid of her?" Phaedra murmured, more to herself than to Eames.

"Yes."

"For what cost?" she asked skeptically.

"You work for us now," he replied simply.

She fought with her skepticism, struggling to make sense of the situation.

"How do you know I won't just give you false information or act as a spy?" she asked.

"Because I know that you will do _anything_ to get rid of her," he whispered.

He watched as her eyes flicked back and forth uncertainly. She pulled against her restraints nervously.

"Deal or no deal?" he urged her.

"Deal," she finally said.

"We'll write a contract," he grinned and turned to get paper when he saw Ariadne sitting on the couch.

"Ariadne! I didn't know you were there," he he tried to remain calm and act casually but dropped his pen on the floor. "Did you hear everything?"

"Every single word."

"_Shit,"_ Eames swore loudly and ran into the table, scattering paper onto the floor.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Arthur or Cobb," she quickly added.

Eames searched her face skeptically. Her chocolate brown eyes were unwavering and honest. He decided to trust her.

"But there's a catch, isn't there?" he guessed.

"You'll need an architect. I'll help you. But in return, I just want to know the truth…about dad," she stated boldly. She wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Eames looked back at Phaedra for approval. Phaedra hesitated but nodded in the end.

"Looks like you have to write one more contract," Ariadne smiled and handed three sheets of paper over to Eames.


	24. Certainty

**This is a short chapter. I wrote some more but it didn't feel right to add more to this particular chapter, so I decided to split it into two chapters. The next chapter will be uploaded soon! My spring break is already over :( I hope everyone is having a great holiday! **

**Please review, it motivates me to write some more!**

**Enjoy!**

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Arthur shifted uncomfortably under Cobb's glare. It was evident Cobb was unhappy about something but Arthur couldn't decide what it could be. He was tempted to ask but the look on Cobb's face stopped him. With more than five years of experience working with the otherwise unpredictable extractor, Arthur knew Cobb backwards and forwards. It was evident something was bothering Cobb.

"It's a bad idea," Cobb said suddenly.

Arthur knew exactly what he was talking about. He, for once, desperately wished he were wrong.

"What are you talking about?" Arthur asked casually, avoiding Cobb's sharp eyes.

"You know what I'm talking about." Cobb reminded Arthur that he knew Arthur as much as Arthur knew Cobb.

"Not at all." Arthur knew it was insensible to play dumb when Cobb was already irritated with Eames. But he wasn't about to admit anything.

"You and Ariadne," he said impatiently.

Arthur debated for a moment whether or not to continue to play dumb but he knew better.

"Why is that a bad idea?" Arthur snapped, "to me, it's a pretty damn good idea."

"Did you learn _nothing_ from me?"

The images of a freight train tearing down the street and Cobb's desperate struggle against his past flashed threateningly in Arthur's head. His right leg began to throb although the actual wound never existed.

'_Pain is in the mind,_' Mal had said just after she shot him. Her cold smile was so different from when she was alive.

Arthur knew the dangers of getting involved with a co-worker, perhaps even better than Cobb. Mixing dream and love was tempting but dangerous. Both were too vague and uncertain. The pure creation that was possible in the sub-conscience fogged up the reality and it was so easy to drown in that fog.

'_It's almost like being drunk," _Cobb had once said.

That haziness combined with the impulsive nature of love was reckless. Cobb's love for Mal wasn't impulsive but devoted. Yet Arthur watched it being crushed so easily by the fog. Love mixed with dream was like driving while drunk. Arthur knew all this.

"I learned everything from you Cobb. That's why I'm so certain I won't fail like you did," Arthur said calmly. "Ariadne and I are different from you and Mal. I won't let it go wrong."

Cobb flinched but didn't say anything. His blue eyes searched his friend's face. There was not a single doubt or hesitation in Arthur's eyes. Like in every mission, Arthur seemed so sure, unwavering in any situation.

"I hope for your sake, you learned well," Cobb said at last and left Arthur in the corridor.

"I hope so too," Arthur murmured to himself.


	25. Departures

**Hello lovely readers. This chapter was a KILLER to write. But hopefully you guys enjoy it.  
**

**AFTER YOU ARE DONE PLEASE READ THE INFO ON THE BOTTOM. **

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Weeks flied past.

Phaedra was no longer a stranger. When Eames first told Cobb that she was on their side, Cobb was more than skeptical. Cobb didn't understand why Phaedra would make such a deal.

* * *

"_She has something planned. It's a trap," Cobb growled at Eames. _

_Eames waved his contract before Cobb's face and smiled smugly. _

"_That piece of paper means nothing to her," Cobb almost ripped it out of Eames' hand but he was too slow. _

"_Don't be such a pussy Cobb," Eames laughed light-heartedly. "She wants to be fixed. She'll do anything. Just as you wanted to do anything for Mal," he added, but this time, there was no smile in his voice. _

_There was a sinking feeling in his guts but Cobb couldn't argue. He would have done more than signing a contract if it could fix her. But now it was too late for Mal. _

_Cobb remembered the emerald cat-eyes that glared at him. It was defensive, hiding something and unwilling to trust others. She was not to be trusted. _

"_Stop overthinking things Cobb," Eames interrupted his thinking. "If she lies, I'll know. Her sub-conscience does not lie. And besides, without her, we will have nothing to work with."_

_Again, Cobb couldn't argue. _

"_I'll never fully trust her," he finally said. "She'll be a double-edged sword. I'll leave you in charge of her. Use her carefully."_

"_Umm…I'm not the only one in on this deal," Eames said carefully. He coughed and signaled the person hiding behind the desk to come out. _

"_Hey Cobb," Ariadne greeted him while crawling around the desk. Cobb flinched when she smiled widely. _

"_Absolutely not," Cobb snapped. Her smile fell slightly. _

"_But-" she started. _

"_No. Arthur would kill me," he cut her off. Her smile disappeared completed at the mention of his name. _

"_This is about ME Cobb. Phaedra claims she's MY half-sister. She claims MY father's not my real father. She claims to know something. And I demand to know. I have the right don't you think? It has nothing to do with Arthur so don't drag him into this," Ariadne shot back irritably. Her eyes filled with insurmountable determination and her petit figure seemed unusually intimidating. Cobb knew he couldn't convince her now. _

_Cobb opened his mouth but he couldn't say anything that would change her mind. _

"_We're not telling Arthur," he said after a long pause. "And you will let me know of EVERYTHING that happens."_

"_Agreed," Eames and Ariadne both replied grinning widely. _

* * *

Eames rented out an apartment near the warehouse. Under the excuse of "guarding" Phaedra, Eames moved her in. Every day for an hour, they went through when Eames called "conditioning." Eames went under, into Phaedra's sub-conscience, and met Phee. Some days, Eames found out something new but more often than not, he was chased by the projections and killed by the "guards." And every time, no matter how many times he went under, Phaedra panicked when she met Phee and attacked Eames. Every time, she woke screaming. Every time, there was a new scar on Eames' body.

Every time, her face was streaked with tears.

There was little progress.

On the other hand, Ariadne made no progress at all. She didn't go under with them because Eames deemed it too dangerous and decided talking to Phaedra was enough for her. Ariadne complained at first but Eames insisted.

Besides, she hadn't even visited Eames' apartment because Arthur found it suspicious.

It was not easy hiding things from Arthur. He knew something was up. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it so he satisfied himself with occasionally interrogating Eames.

After a week passed by without another attack, tension seemed to unwind and the bond that tied the team together once more withered away. But unlike the inception case, there was no sense of closure, just uncertainties and unknowns. The week of peace was oddly unsettling. Saito returned to America to catch up with his "business." Yusuf returned to satisfy his dream-deprived customers. Although she didn't like being extracted, Ariadne hated to see others leave. After Saito and Yusuf left together on Saito's private plane, she felt a sense of draining in her guts.

That was not the last.

As much as he hated leaving the irresponsible forger with an enemy extractor, Cobb had a family to return to. Before he left, he begrudgingly handed Eames his pistol that he had kept locked up in the warehouse.

"Use it when you need to." He pushed the surprisingly heavy weapon onto Eames' hand.

"When is that?" Eames replied playfully as he twirled the pistol around his finger carelessly.

"You'll know," Cobb snatched the gun out of Eames' hand and set it down on his desk.

The playfulness disappeared from Eames' grey eyes. He grabbed the pistol and slipped it in his jacket pocket.

"I know I will," Eames murmured.

Instead of a weapon, Cobb left Ariadne with what he called "words of wisdom."

"Don't give any private information to Phaedra."

"But-"

"-and don't trust her so easily-"

"But-"

"-and make sure you don't give anything away to Arthur-"

"But Cobb-"

"- and don't' do anything stupid-"

"How old-"

"-and never leave Eames in charge-"

"Of course but-"

"-here's my phone number and my email address, if something happens, contact me immediately-"

"Shut up for one second Cobb," Ariadne said after she blocked his mouth with her hand. "I'm not a five year old so I'll be fine. Stop with the nagging and just give me a hug will you?"

Cobb looked irritated because she interrupted him but he gave her a hug anyways.

"Be careful," he said quietly.

"You know I will," she smiled brightly.

Unlike the playful banter between the two and Cobb, silence hung around between Arthur and him. After their last semi-argument, things were more than awkward.

"Say hi to Philipa, James and Miles for me," Arthur broke the silence at last.

"Call once in a while. They want to hear from you, not my imitation of you," Cobb said, a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"I wouldn't want them to suffer through that would I," chuckled Arthur. "Have a safe trip home."

"Treat her right," Cobb ordered. The smile was gone but his eyes were warm.

"Of course," Arthur replied solemnly.

"I know you will."

* * *

And he left.

It was just Arthur, Eames and Ariadne now.

And of course, the cat-eyed visitor.

The four were headed to a hazy and unknown destination together.

One did not know that his enemy had turned into a teammate.

One did not know how to solve the unsolvable puzzle that lay before him.

One did not know her past and was struggling to find out.

And the last one did not know what she was doing in the present was correct.

But all of them knew, when they reached wherever they were going, they were never coming back.

* * *

**END OF SEASON 1**

**I'll be back with season 2 in June. I will continue writing the season 2 chapters until June. I want to publish regularly and it's impossible with an AP schedule so I decided to cut the story into three seasons.  
**

**Please review/IM/email me. I would love to hear your ideas on what the season 2 should be like. **

**p.s. Reviews make me happy (:**


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